


Coffee Shop

by voidkitty1



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Angst, Betrayal, Blood and Injury, Coffee Shops, F/F, Fluff, Identity Issues, Internalized Homophobia, Kidnapping, Slow Burn, Trust Issues, celestia maki peko and tsumugi are all besties, lying, so much damn lying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:28:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 35,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26400427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidkitty1/pseuds/voidkitty1
Summary: Four kidnappings within two months. Police and detectives have found no evidence that could lead to the culprit, they've grown restless at the thought that this assailant could potentially take away more civilians. They keeps this issue from the public. They want to protect their city, but they cannot allow chaos from the paranoia that may go around if word gets out.Celestia, who has no idea of this issue, goes out to weekly cafe trips with her friends. Issues arise from there.
Relationships: Ikusaba Mukuro/Maizono Sayaka, Kirigiri Kyoko/Celestia Ludenberg, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, background relationships are after this tag
Comments: 224
Kudos: 210





	1. the purple haired girl

**Author's Note:**

> yes this story doesn't match up with the summary, i promise we'll get there eventually. :)

The bell above the door startled Celestia as she pushed it open. The interior was to her liking, with a light green and light brown aesthetic. She smiled upon seeing the faces of her friend group; Silver-haired Peko and brown-haired Maki. It became a weekly tradition for the three of them to meet up at the café, just to catch up and remain in touch with each other.

“Hey,” Maki spoke first, offering one of her rare smiles at the gambler. Peko nodded respectfully. She was always quiet at first until Celestia, Maki, and Tsumugi got into a conversation, then she would join in when she got comfortable. “We ordered for you by the way, along with Tsumugi since you both get the same thing every time.”

“Greetings, and thank you,” Celestia replied, taking her seat next to Maki at their small table. “Anything new with the two of you?”

Maki and Peko both shook their heads no.

“Boring, all of you,” the black-haired teased, “None of you have done anything worth mentioning in the past week?”

“I killed someone. Is that good enough for you?” Maki retorted, crossing her arms.

“Me too,” Peko said, looking up at the two. “The clan was raided by enemies last night.”

“Oh goodness,” Celestia frowned, “That’s not what I was expecting at all.”

Maki scoffed, “You’re the one that asked,” she smiled playfully.

The bell attached to the door rang again, and all three girls looked up in curiosity. “Aw, you really noticed a plain girl such as me?”

“Tsumugi,” Celestia acknowledged, “greetings.”

“Oh, don’t be so formal,” Tsumugi smiled, sitting next to Peko, who scooted over to give her more room with an uncomfortable look on her face from the previous conversation. “I don’t even want to know what made you make that face…”

Maki started up a conversation with Tsumugi about their classmates. Celestia sat with her hands folded under her chin as she listened in. The only noteworthy student she heard them speak of was this Kokichi boy, though Maki doesn’t seem very fond of him, so she never voiced her interests. Tsumugi doesn’t seem to like him either judging by the way they speak of him. Peko smiled politely, not understanding their conversation due to being the oldest of them all.

Another ring was heard from the doorway. The other three girls, well, mainly Maki and Tsumugi, ignored it to keep speaking. Peko only listened and ignored the sound. Celestia looked up towards the door out of pure nosiness. Her eyes locked with a pair of purple, who broke the contact as quickly as it started. Her hair was a light lavender, and her style was honestly quite… questionable, to Celestia.

Celestia had never seen this girl before, and she knew she has seen all the people in this area before. This individual would stand out due to her stoic expression and calm demeanor.

The mystery girl had a laptop in one gloved hand and a file of papers in the other. Making it a point to ignore the gothic girl who was still staring. She sat at a table on her own, placing the file next to the laptop and opening the device. Another glance up at Celestia from the girl sent the gambler to a state of awkwardness. She was never the best at interacting with people who she didn’t know, so the awkward eye contact didn’t sit well. She refocused her attention on the conversation at the table that was currently happening.

Well, she pretended to focus. Celestia really hoped no one was talking to her right now.

After a few seconds, she looked back up at the girl writing something down on a paper next to her laptop. As much as she hated to admit it, she was a little intrigued. She didn’t even know why, it’s not like they’ve ever spoken before, and she doesn’t even know the girl’s name. She knew she _wanted_ too, and that’s what bothered her.

“You keep glancing over my shoulder,” Peko observed blankly, “Is there an issue?”

Celestia jumped slightly, looking back at the swordswoman, “Not at all, do not mind me.”

Maki raised an eyebrow, remaining silent for now. Tsumugi however, decided to speak.

“Are you interested in someone?” she asked, elbows on the table with a hand on her cheek, “Oooh, I’d love to play matchmaker!”

Celestia shook her head. “There is no one, you delusional cosplayer.”

Tsumugi shrunk in her seat with a lighthearted whimper.

“She’s been staring at that purple-haired girl across the shop,” Maki smirked, “You wanna go for it Tsumugi?”

The cosplayer in question turned around in her chair to look behind her. Once her eyes set on the girl, she smiled. “It’s plain to see that you two would look so cute together, aesthetically speaking!” She turned around with a smile. “Has she noticed you?”

“No,” Celestia lied, taking a breath, “I was merely observing my surroundings.”

“You were blushing when I asked if there was an issue,” Peko mumbled.

“I’m not even into girls,” the gambler replied, crossing her arms. “I’m not against people like that, but if you must match me with someone, make sure it’s a man.”

Tsumugi giggled. “You’re lucky Tenko isn’t here, she’d try to get you with that girl for sure. Though I’m not particularly good at matchmaking, I’ve failed all of my attempts.”

“What relationships did you fail?” Maki inquired.

“Hajime and Chiaki from Peko’s class. They hit it off well, but my execution of the plan kind of sucked.”

“Chiaki told me she isn’t interested in a relationship,” Peko spoke, “maybe if she was, you would’ve been successful. Do not blame yourself.”

Celestia sighed. She was growing thirsty while awaiting her drink. As if on cue, a barista with a tray of drinks made her way to their table. With a polite smile, she gave each of them their respective drinks. The gambler stared at hers for a few seconds before picking it up. This place usually made it correctly, but sometimes they would screw it up. She brought the cup to her lips for an experimental sip.

The other three watched her intently. They all knew very well how mad she could get when her tea was made incorrectly. She’s snapped at the workers here many times before; some have even quit because of her frequent visits. When Celestia smiled and put the cup down, the others relaxed. Her smile meant that the tea was made correctly, which meant no breakdowns in the café today. Those were never good times…

“You’re staring,” Celestia smiled, “Am I that attractive today?”

“We didn’t want a scene like last week,” Peko responded.

“As long as my tea is fine, no altercation is needed.”

Tsumugi picked back up the conversation beforehand, and Celestia looked back at the other girl. Her hair was covering her face, therefore shielding her expression. Celestia smiled at her unknowingly, wishing for the chance to speak with her.

“Celeste, you’re staring again,” Maki nudged her with her elbow, “Don’t be shy, just go talk to her.”

“She’s busy,” Celestia countered, “I dare not bother a busy woman.”

Maki rolled her eyes. “C’mon, we got your back,” she encouraged, “Right?”

“Absolutely!” Tsumugi spoke, a little _too_ enthusiastically for Celestia’s standards. Peko replied with a small nod.

Celestia looked back up. Maybe she would speak with her. The girl, however, was already packing up her papers when she got the courage to stand. This was disappointing, annoying but disappointing, nonetheless.

“See? Now you missed your chance,” Maki said. “Like you said to Peko and me when you arrived, _boring_.”

The gambler looked away. She hated that her shy inner self couldn’t get the confidence to talk to the other. She watched with internal sadness as the girl she was interested in walk out of the door, creating a ringing sound as she exited. Celestia sighed.

“You’re bound to see her around some time,” Peko said. “Don’t beat yourself up over this, I understand social anxiety too.” Her lips curled up into a comforting smile.

“Thanks,” Celestia responded quickly, ignoring the rest of the conversation for the day.

When the four departed ways, Celestia couldn’t resist cursing herself out under her breath. This may have been her only chance to talk to the purple-haired girl, and she blew it due to anxiety. Anxiety! Celestia Ludenberg was not socially anxious, _Taeko_ was! She let out a huff of frustration at the sight of her school dorm, swiftly unlocking it and flopping onto her bed.

Celestia wanted to scream into her pillow. She knew that this isn’t that serious, but damn, she wanted to talk to that girl. She shook off her heels and unclipped both drills from her head, placing them on the wig head on her desk. Making her way to the bathroom of her dorm, she aggressively took a makeup wipe to rid her face of the accessories. She swiped it down the left side of her face, looking at the mirror in disappointment. How boring she looked without her extravagant makeup on that one side of her.

Her disappointment turned to rage at herself as she practically flung off her ring. Still, in half-faced makeup, Celestia looked back up at herself in the mirror. Mascara ran down her right cheek from tears she didn’t even know were falling.

She laughed bitterly. How did she think she could talk to that girl at the café when she could barely even take off makeup without crying? Her eyes grew heavy as she sank down to the tiled floor. She looked at the clock: it’s too late in the afternoon for a mental breakdown. So instead of continuing to remove her makeup and undress, she sat on her bed once again and laid down, staring at the ceiling with mixed emotions.

All she wanted was to see that girl again.


	2. two new students

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was gonna wait until like tomorrow to post but i wrote this early and i reallyyy wanted to post it sp here it is lol

Celestia cringed at the sound of the school’s morning announcement. She slowly opened her eyes, sitting up like any normal person would in the morning. Her eyes stung, and not just from the light coming in from the windows. She reluctantly stood up from the comfort of her bed, annoyed with herself now for not getting dressed into proper night clothes before she fell asleep.

She concluded that her face looked gross once she reached the mirror. Makeup was smudged to a high degree on the right side of her face, the left remaining spotless. Her freckles were visible on her left cheek.

Her eyes were _red._ Not like the red irises, they were just puffy and red. “Wait...” Celestia grumbled to herself, leaning closer over the sink to the mirror. “Are you fucking kidding me!?” Her irises were still red, meaning that her contacts stayed in her eyes during her slumber. Mumbling a string of curses at herself, she removed the contacts from her eyes and placed them into their small container.

“This is bullshit,” she grumbled as she snatched a white washcloth from the cabinet underneath the sink. She turned on the faucet, drenching the towel under the ice-cold water. She applied the compress to her left eye first, trying to be productive while fixing her problem. As she held the washcloth against her eye, she took a makeup remover wipe to work on the makeup on the right side of her face.

Celestia wanted to skip her classes today. Her face was not prepared for a day of school, and honestly, neither was she. She was still mentally drained from the day prior, mainly from the breakdown after the events at the coffee shop. All she wanted was to approach someone and she couldn’t even do that. Taeko stopped her.

“Fuck Taeko!” Celestia screamed at nothing in particular. Her rage caused her to throw a toothbrush at the mirror in front of her. She breathed heavily, annoyed at her true self for preventing what she wanted to do yesterday. “Always getting in the damn way…”

The cold compress was transferred from her left eye to her right so Celestia could inspect the eye. It wasn’t as red, not as noticeable. Quietly congratulating herself for thinking of a quick remedy, she kept the cloth to her right eye, hoping the same treatment would be possible with this one.

Her phone buzzed twice on the sink. Celestia frowned; who was possibly bothering her when she was trying to get ready? She flipped the smartphone over to read the message she had received.

_mukuwu: heard you yelling in your dorm_

_mukuwu: you good in there?_

With her free hand, Celestia typed out her reply.

_ludenberger: perfectly fine._

_mukuwu: you sure?_

_ludenberger: positive._

Celestia shut off her phone once again, now taking the cloth away from her eye. From what she could see when she leaned towards the mirror again, it looked just about as well as the other. She sighed, knowing it’s probably the best she’ll get in time for class.

Applying more makeup to her probably already overwhelmed face, her mind brought her back to the girl from yesterday. With her purple eyes and matching long hair, she was a hard image to forget. It was unknown to her as to why she can’t get this person out of her head. It made no sense to her at all; she wasn’t even into girls!

Celestia placed down the last brush to observe her work, and to also get the mysterious girl out of her head. Aside from the slight puffiness still somewhat evident in her eyes, she looked exactly like she did every other day. She glared down at the contact case, debating their usage. She took one on her finger and inspected it.

“I suppose it’s worth it,” she shrugged after a few seconds, opening her eye wide to place in the contact. She’d google the consequences later.

After her clothing, makeup, eye contact, and hair routines were completed, Celestia opened her dorm room door. Across from her own was Chihiro’s dorm, and luckily for her, he walked out the same time she did. Usually, she’d walk to her first class alone, but alone time meant thinking time. Thinking time led to thoughts of _her._

“Ah, Chihiro, darling!” Celestia greeted, “Would you care to walk with me to class?”

The boy in question squeaked at her sudden offer. “S-sure,” he smiled once he got over his initial shock.

“Splendid!” The gambler giggled. Chihiro locked the door to his room and turned back to Celestia with an energetic expression.

“You know, you’ve never asked me to walk with you before,” he started as they began walking, “why start today?”

Celestia smiled. “Why not? Both of our schedules are different in the mornings. I like to take my time and you get to the classroom early,” she spoke elegantly, “Though today I thought I was going to be much later than I turned out to be.”

“Oh, okay,” The boy chuckled as they rounded the corner to get to the stairway. “Well, I’m glad you asked me, I’ve kind of been hoping to talk to you.”

“To moi? Regarding what?” Celestia immediately grew interested in the second the words left his mouth.

“It’s uh… not that important, but I’d like to see if you’d participate.”

“Participate? That itself is a rarity, but please continue.”

Chihiro started up the stairway. “Okay, so, uh don’t tell anyone this but I hacked into the school’s database for fun a few nights ago,” he admitted, looking away from Celestia.

Celestia giggled again. “Wow, you actually surprised me. I knew you had the skill, but the confidence to do so was something I thought you lacked.”

“Uh, thanks. I guess?” Chihiro questioned, unsure whether her words were complimentary or not. “Anyways, I found out that there are two new students starting in a week. To welcome them, I was wondering if you’d be willing to help plan a surprise party for them both?”

“Two new students at once? Quite interesting indeed,” Celestia mumbled, mostly to herself.

“Yes, but I could only find one of their names. The one I know is Azumi Fujimoto.”

“Talent?”

“Azumi is the ultimate drummer.”

Celestia hummed in response. It would be interesting to have another face in their class, let alone a second that isn’t even on the student record.

The two reached the top of the stairs. They remained in silence for the rest of the walk until they reached the door.

“May I inquire as to why you asked me of all people to help plan a surprise party?” Celestia questioned, hand on the door.

“I just had a burst of confidence, I guess,” Chihiro replied, opening the door himself. “Are you in?”

“As long as I can decorate.”

“I’ll just have Aoi accompany you with decorations if she says yes.”

The two sat down at their respective desks. Celestia chose to sit at the back of the classroom to avoid contact with anyone else. As much as she may have wanted to talk with someone to prevent her thoughts from wandering, her mini conversation and agreement with Chihiro had already drained her ability to interact with others.

“I see you’re here early.”

The gambler reluctantly looked up at the voice speaking to her. Mukuro, who sat in front of her in class, had turned her back to the front of the classroom to face Celestia.

“What caused you to bless us with your presence this early in the morning?” She grinned.

“I needed distractions,” Celestia replied truthfully, folding her hands on top of her desk.

“Oh? From what?”

“That is irrelevant.”

The soldier shrugged, shifting back in her seat to face the front. Celestia laid her head down on her desk. Despite sleeping since yesterday afternoon until seven this morning, she still felt tired. Her eyes landed on the desk beside her with no one in it. No one ever sat there, so she stared at the empty chair without an expression, her eyes slowly closing.

Mukuro flicked her forehead. “Get up, no sleeping in class,” she joked. Celestia popped her head back up in an instant. “Hey, I’m helping your ass stay clear of detention, so don’t give me that glare.”

“There are gentler ways to get my attention instead of _flicking_ me,” Celestia grumbled, removing her hands from the desk.

“Wait, I just noticed your eyes,” Mukuro spoke, “damn, what were you even doing last night?”

Celestia sighed. “Are they that noticeable?”

“Not unless someone is as close to you as I am.”

“So pretty much if anyone around my height has a normal conversation with me, they’ll see it,” Celestia deadpanned.

“It’s not that bad, you just look exhausted,” Mukuro responded. “Don’t worry about it, vampire.” With that, she turned back around in her seat again.

Just in time, their teacher entered the room and began attendance. Celestia observed the room, wanting to see if anyone was missing. Within a few seconds, she already saw someone was absent. “Does anyone know where Aoi is?” their teacher questioned.

Each student turned their gaze towards Sakura, assuming she would know since she’s the closest to Aoi. Sakura only shrugged while shaking her head. “She’s usually here before me; she says she hates messing up her attendance,” she informed.

Celestia tilted her head. Sakura was right; she never did miss a day of school before this. Missing school without telling anyone is something she seemed like she would never do. Celestia wasn’t too worried, she never really talked to Aoi. She also knew that Aoi was most likely capable of defending herself if need be.

She saw Mukuro shift in her seat at the mention of a missing student. She didn’t know why, but the soldier always stiffened up at the indication of a classmate being absent. Celestia wanted to ask, but she brushed it off as worrying for their wellbeing. Mukuro _did_ seem to do that a lot.

Aside from the early morning encounters, the day continued rather slowly for the gambler. Everyone agreed to help with the party, except for Byakuya, though that was a given. Toko also backed out once Byakuya said no. Sakura and Mondo are moving around desks and objects, Taka is helping Chihiro orchestrate the entire plan, Junko, Mukuro, Sayaka, and Celestia got put onto decoration duty, Makoto was the one bringing the two students to the class, Leon and Hiro were told to get snacks and drinks uncontaminated with drugs, and Hifumi was the one who helped with whatever else was needed since no one knew of a specific job for him.

After that, the day ran smoothly. Though each time Celestia was alone with her thoughts, her mind drifted off to yesterday with that random girl. She would curse herself internally for thinking about her, she only made eye contact twice, and yet here she was, thinking about her in her spare time. She didn’t even know her name!

At the end of the day, Celestia sighed. This was going to be a long week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> barely any plot but i promise its there if you look hard enough👀
> 
> azumi fujimoto is my oc, ultimate drummer. she’s very energetic, reminiscent of ibuki, just less crackhead.
> 
> also rip celestia's eyes lmao


	3. speaking to the purple girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i need to stop uploading daily, people are gonna start raising their expectations of me🤡

The bell rung as the door swung open.

“Hi, Celeste!”

Celestia nodded at Tsumugi politely, sitting down next to the cosplayer at the table. Maki and Peko smiled in greetings.

It was, in fact, a long week for Celestia. As expected, she couldn’t get the girl from their last meetup out of her thoughts. She arrived at the café that morning in hopes to see her once again, and maybe actually speak this time too. Aoi hadn’t come to school for the entire week either. Honestly, she was beginning to worry. No one missed school for a week without texting or calling anyone to inform them where they are.

She didn’t even have the time to ask how her friends were doing before the ringing of the bell was heard again. All four girls shifted their gaze towards the door. Instead of it being the girl Celestia was hoping for it to be, it was Mukuro…

“Hi everyone!” Mukuro smiled, taking a chair from the table beside the group and pulling it up next to Celestia.

Mukuro was always invited to their outings, yet her response every time was that she was busy. Eventually, the group just stopped inviting her since she never joined them.

“No response? Well, one of you knew I was coming, so that doesn’t surprise me. But the rest of you?” Mukuro shook her head. “Disappointing.”

“Who did you tell?” Peko tilted her head.

“She spoke to me about it,” Tsumugi giggled. “I told her about Celeste’s crush, and she wanted to see for herself!”

Celestia gasped lightly. “I do _not_ have a crush, you ignorant little—”

Mukuro flicked Celestia’s forehead.

“Why must you always flick my goddamn forehead?” Celestia growled, turning away from the soldier.

“It’s just so easy to mess with you,” the girl shrugged.

“Careful, you’re starting to sound like your sister,” Maki warned.

To that, Mukuro frowned and cross her arms jokingly.

Apart from their quick humorous argument, they all got along as if Mukuro always joined them. Contrary to what others may believe, Mukuro can get playful with a group of people she’d comfortable with. It takes time for her to even begin to think about trusting someone, but when she does, she’s an exact replica of Junko Enoshima. She’s just much more lighthearted than the real one.

The bell to the door rung, and Celestia’s head was up halfway through the chime. Her heart stopped upon seeing the girl from last week, same laptop and even more papers in hand. This time, she didn’t notice the gambler’s gaze and ignored her entirely. She sat with such an unusual elegance that again, brought Celestia to question if she wanted to speak with her.

“That’s her,” Maki elbowed Mukuro and pointed at the lavender-haired girl. “What do you think?”

“Hmm… I need more information than just looks,” Mukuro replied. She brought her focus back to Celestia, who hadn’t torn her eyes away from the girl. She poked her cheek with a soft giggle. “Go speak to her.”

As much as she wanted to, Celestia knew she couldn’t. Taeko’s social anxiety would breakthrough and she’d have to leave halfway through a conversation. It’s happened before, it’ll happen again.

“No thank you,” the red-eyed girl responded politely. “I don’t wish to disturb her.”

“She’s just sitting there,” Maki deadpanned. “What’s there to disturb?”

“I say go for it,” Peko chimed in calmly. “I understand that it may be nerve-wracking, but once you get into a conversation, your nerves may settle.”

“Yes! Go talk to her!” Tsumugi exclaimed.

Celestia looked back at the girl, who had her mini workplace set up. Yet she remained on her phone, probably waiting for her order.

The gambler frowned at herself. What was she so afraid of? Celestia was never socially awkward, so if she can contain Taeko, she’d be good to go, right? Was she just afraid of her real personality slipping, or was it already too late to prevent that?

“I suppose I can attempt to start a conversation,” she finally accepted. “Only if it makes you all shut up about this.” The four nodded enthusiastically at her words.

Without a sound, Celestia stood from the table. She glanced back at the girl, who still paid no attention to whatever work she was surely supposed to be doing. Maybe she was researching. But wait, couldn’t she use the laptop she brought with her for that? Why need her phone to do it?

Celestia’s heart pounded louder with each step she took. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was terrified of speaking with this girl. She desperately sought approval from someone she didn’t even know, and that petrified her. She felt her own knees trembling slightly, yet she continued to walk towards the girl.

“Greetings,” Celestia smiled once she finally reached the table. She had gotten the confidence to speak and there was no way she would let it go.

The girl glared up at her with sparkling purple eyes, face emotionless. “Can I help you with something?” Her tone was extremely cold and uninviting. If Celestia had to be honest this one time in her life, she would have to say that the other girl intimidated her. But never would she admit that to anyone, she could barely even accept it herself.

“No, no,” the gambler folded her hands over her skirt. “I happened to see you come in today and couldn’t help but feel intrigued by your aura.”

The girl blinked. “Am I supposed to be affected by that?”

Damn, she was hard to talk to. “That is your choice,” Celestia responded. She glanced at her table, where her friends all watched intensely. Maki gave her a thumbs up and Tsumugi looked awestruck. Peko and Mukuro watched without any expression. Celestia glanced back at the purple-eyed girl. “I was wondering if you’d allow me to pay for your order today, and maybe we could get to know each other better?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to have to decline. I’m working on something especially important right now,” the girl looked down at her paperwork sprawled across the table, then back at Celestia. “I apologize.”

Celestia sighed. “No worries,” she said quickly, taking a napkin from a table over and borrowing a pen from the girl’s’ workspace. She wrote down a string of numbers—her own phone number—with her name and a colored in heart at the bottom. “If you ever reconsider my offer for another time, please contact me, darling.” She handed the other girl the napkin and pen with a smile.

The girl nodded, taking the note from Celestia. The gambler smiled and spun on her heels, beginning to walk off.

“I despise you all,” she grumbled as she reached her original table. She covered her face with her hands, shaking her head slightly. Mukuro began laughing once she saw the dark red blush spreading across Celestia’s face.

“May I ask how it went?” Peko asked, fixing her glasses on her face.

“I’m back here, so you should probably be able to figure it out,” Celestia said, eyes glaring at Mukuro.

“Ha, you got rejected!”

Maki shoved Mukuro. “Be nice, you bully.”

“Alright, alright,” the soldier smiled. “My bad. But did you at least get her name?”

Celestia frowned, thinking back to her conversation not long ago. “No, I did not,” she concluded. “I do not wish to become bothersome to her, so before you ask, I am _not_ going back to ask her.”

“What? But you have to!” Tsumugi argued.

“But Celeste already gave her a note with her number, I presume?” Peko countered.

Celestia nodded.

“Wow, I was ‘no that’s wrong’ed. Almost like a real class trial,” the cosplayer mused.

The other four girls glanced perplexedly at her.

“Oh, never mind, its nothing.”

“Okay then,” Maki cleared her throat. “She’ll be texting you soon, right?”

“I hope so,” Celestia spoke hopefully, resting her head on her hand.

* * *

“Is your investigation going well so far?”

The girl nodded. “I’ve narrowed it down to fifteen students in the 78th class of Hope’s Peak Academy. I’ve already applied as a transfer student and I have been accepted.”

The man looked surprised. “ _The_ Hope’s Peak Academy? The once your father administrates?”

Her expression fell. “Don’t remind me.”

“My apologies. What is your cover?”

“Ultimate Detective.”

A gasp left the man. “That’s hardly a way to conceal yourself!”

“It’s the only way to find the truth of the case. I must do anything to uncover the truth. You said so, am I correct?”

There was a sigh. “Very well. I expect the best results as always?”

She smiled smugly. “You won’t receive anything less from me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao kyoko really said nope.


	4. azumi and kyoko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've had so much inspo for this book lately and i dont understand so here have another update

_“Gooood morning everyone! It is now 7 am, and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!”_

Celestia was already awake by the time the announcement sounded. She had set an alarm on her phone for an hour earlier, making sure to get ready despite her usual grogginess. She had been staring at her phone for the past half hour, hopeful for contact from the girl at the café. So far, nothing had been sent. She laid her head against her propped up hand and stared at the time display on her screen.

A text notification covered up the time for a couple of seconds.

_chichi: ur coming early today right_

_ludenberger: of course, i must make a good first impression on the arriving students._

_chichi: well we’re going to start preparations in ten minutes if u could maybe come to the classroom_

_ludenberger: i will arrive soon._

_chichi: cant wait uwu_

Celestia cringed inwardly at the ‘uwu’ Chihiro used but brushed it off. She slowly slipped on her heels and snatched her phone back up, exiting her dorm room. The walk to the classroom was a relatively short walk on her own. She didn’t necessarily want to be early, since that would call for more work and effort on her part, but Chihiro of all people asking is what got her moving.

Upon entering the classroom, she saw everyone but Aoi already doing their parts to prepare for the new classmates. She immediately went to the corner her group, Sayaka, Mukuro, and Junko were planning in.

“Oh my gosh, she’s here early!” Junko exclaimed, bombarding Celestia with an unwanted hug. “My bestie is heeerreee!”

“We have no established friendship,” Celestia grumbled, shoving Junko off her with a surprising amount of force. She rolled her eyes as Junko frowned teasingly.

Mukuro was behind Junko, noticeably quieter than usual. This usually happened every time Mukuro was seen with her sister and no one knew why. Celestia knew that the soldier was a funny and expressive girl on her own, but it’s like she’s her sister’s shadow whenever Junko is with her.

Sayaka smiled at Celestia politely as a form of greetings. Celestia smiled softly back as Sayaka turned her back to climb a ladder for the decorations they were in charge of.

“Alright, so tell me honestly, girl!” Junko flashed a signature grin at Celestia. “Mukuro told me about your little crush. She ever text ya?”

Celestia scoffed. “For the _final_ time,” she glared at Mukuro, “it is not a crush.”

“Hey, every lesbian tells themselves that at first. Fast forward a month of talking and neither of you is a virgin anymore!”

“Junko!” Sayaka scolded, hanging up a small ‘welcome’ banner.

The fashionista shrugged. “It’s true, don’t deny it.”

“Wow,” Celestia mused, shaking her head as she watched Sayaka almost fall from the ladder with a quiet squeak. Mukuro was quick to steady it before anything bad happened, and the two shared a blushed expression and a chuckle. Celestia laughed lightly to herself, shooting Mukuro a look once she broke eye contact with Sayaka.

Junko seemed to have noticed this too, nudging Mukuro with her elbow teasingly. The black-haired girl only blushed harder and stared at the ground in embarrassment.

“I’m really the one out here doing all the work,” Sayaka spoke sarcastically.

Junko frowned. “Celestia and I aren’t going anywhere up there!” She crossed her arms. “Mukuro, go help her.”

Mukuro nodded silently holding the latter once again to allow the pop idol the climb down. She shot the soldier a soft smile and whispered something, before switching places completely. Celestia was the one to hand Mukuro everything that had to be hung as Sayaka spoke with Junko. Well, Sayaka scolded Junko for her previous statement.

“Girl why are you so offended? Did my comment bother yoouuu?” Junko mocked in a sing-song voice with a fake pout.

“It’s just offensive in general, Junko!”

Celestia sighed. “You’re both acting like children. Take this somewhere else if you insist on arguing like preschoolers,” she said, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers.

Sayaka frowned, going back to keep the ladder Mukuro still stood on steady as Junko went off to torment some other hardworking group. Celestia sat at desk in the back, messing with anything to keep her occupied as she waited on the preparations to finish and the arrival of her new classmates.

* * *

A giggle echoed in the hallway behind the purple-eyed girl. She spun around to see a smiling face with black and hair and green tips in a messy space bun hairstyle.

“Kyoko Kirigiri, right?” she asked, extending a hand towards her. “I’m Azumi Fujimoto, the Ultimate Drummer!

The girl, Kyoko, hesitated before shaking Azumi’s hand. “Pleased to meet you,” she muttered out, not really in the mood for social interaction.

“Soooo you have no talent?” Azumi questioned, fidgeting with the choker resting on her neck.

“I would rather not say,” Kyoko answered, turning back around. Azumi sped up to walk next to her, blowing a stray strand of hair from in front of her face.

“Aw come on don’t be boring!”

Kyoko ignored her, continuing to walk. She looked back down at the paper in her hand, looking for the classroom she was assigned to. Azumi frowned at being overlooked by the other, so she turned her head away to act unbothered. Kyoko noticed and chose it to ignore it, supposing a quiet Azumi is the best Azumi.

Her focus fell to the notebook in her other hand. She neatly folded the paper and stuffed it into her pocket, now opening the notebook. Azumi looked over her shoulder, not caring to hide her obvious curiosity.

“What’cha got there?”

“Information,” Kyoko replied quickly.

“Ooooh, about what?”

“People.”

“Who?”

“That’s classified.”

Azumi huffed and crossed her arms. “You’re no fun,” she complained. “You could at least liven up a little. We're friends, right?"

"Azumi,” Kyoko breathed. “I barely even know you."

"Ouch!"

Kyoko shook her head, growing more irritated with the drummer as their time together progressed. All she wanted was to get to the classroom and get away from this hyperactive maniac. She took notice of her outfit; ripped black jeans and a magenta shirt torn at the shoulders. Mentally, Kyoko cringed.

“Did you walk through a field of rose bushes before you arrived at school today?” Kyoko asked, eyeing Azumi carefully.

“No, it’s my style!” she bragged, hands on her hips proudly. “Do ya like it?”

“I—”

“Look, that’s our class!”

Azumi cut Kyoko off as she ran ahead of her, as energetic as ever, and waited at the door for the other. Kyoko sighed, picking up her pace to reach Azumi faster. The green-haired girl smiled, grabbing a hold of the detective’s hand with a friendly giggle.

Kyoko flinched, vision going down to her own gloved hand and Azumi’s bare ones. “Is this supposed to mean something…?”

“Huh? Oh!” Azumi shook her head, blue eyes almost sparkling in the light. “No, holding hands is just a friendly thing for me. You’re not my type anyway.”

“That is quite relieving,” Kyoko mumbled under her breath.

Azumi pushed open the door with great excitement, dragging Kyoko behind her.

* * *

Celestia instantly turned her head to the door after hearing it open quickly. Her eyes automatically ignored the unfamiliar figure and fixated on the purple-haired girl from yesterday. What got on her nerves was the fact that her gloved hand was intertwined with the other girl’s had. When the purple-eyed girl looked back with her emotionless gaze, Celestia’s eyes widened, searching for anywhere to look except for the burning gaze of the girl from the café.

With no teacher in the room, the entire class occupied the two with questions, except for Celestia. She now laid her head on the desk, hiding her face with her arms.

“What the fuck,” she babbled to herself, eyes still wide in shock staring at the desk underneath her. “What the actual fuck.”

She finally heard the speaking die down from intense to normal, and she got the guts to look up. Their teacher had entered, welcoming the new girls herself before allowing them to pick seats. Celestia closed her eyes and faced downwards, praying to whatever god would be willing to listen that no one would sit in the empty seat next to—

“Celestia Ludenberg, from the coffee shop. Am I correct?”

It seemed like no god wanted to hear her prayers.

“You bitch,” she breathed quietly, making sure no one heard her before she opened her eyes and looked at the one next to her. The only one who seemed to have had an idea of what she said was Mukuro, who quietly giggled to herself in front of her. “That would be accurate! What a coincidence it is that we happen to be in the same class now.”

Celestia internally cussed herself nonstop, refusing to believe the fact that this girl is in her classroom, sitting next to her, and even making conversation.

“Indeed,” the girl murmured. “I’m Kyoko Kirigiri.” Her voice seemed less harsh than the day prior; more inviting.

“Ah, a wonderful name,” Celestia smiled, folding her hands under her chin. “May I ask for your talent?”

Kyoko shook her head. “I would prefer if you do not.”

“Understood,” the black-haired girl nodded. “I will not press the subject further.

“Thank you. I understand that this may be considered hypocritical on my part, but may I ask for your talent?” Kyoko tucked a strand of lilac hair behind her ear.

“Ultimate Gambler,” Celestia giggled.

Kyoko nodded in response, staring a little too long for the other’s liking.

Celestia shifted her gaze forward, unknowing of how to continue their conversation. Kyoko seemingly couldn’t either, as she did the same after her. Mukuro took the initiative to spin around in her seat, smiling mischievously at the goth.

“Lucky you,” she teased quietly.

“I swear I’ll burn you if you don’t turn around within five seconds Mukuro,” Celestia growled.

A carefree shrug came from the other girl. “Have fun with your back row buddy.”

Celestia snuck a glance at Kyoko beside her, then to the opposite side of the room. She sighed, annoyed with how this new girl beside her was so distracting yet they barely even held a conversation. Junko waved at her from across the classroom, winking and displaying a heart on a paper she found. Celestia rolled her eyes, looking away from the girl and back to the front of the room.

Her gaze falling on Kyoko once again, she internally screamed. Why is she so emotionally attached to this girl who’s name she just learned that day? And why did seeing her holding hands with that Azumi girl bother her so much? The idea of Kyoko being romantically involved with Azumi only brought Celestia shaky fists. Her breathing started to become unstable from the anger she felt at the idea of those two being in a relationship.

Was she getting jealous over this supposed couple? Celestia mentally shook her head. That cannot be it, Celestia does not get jealous, Taeko does. And at that point in time, Taeko was unavailable.

Celestia inhaled deeply, clearing her head to the best of her abilities. No matter what Junko or anyone else said to her, she was _not_ interested in girls, and she _never_ will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love azumi. she's my precious lil drummer baby 🥺


	5. partner project

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating earlier, heres a longer chapter to make up for it :)

“And the last group, Celestia and Kyoko.”

The gambler sighed. It was the next day of school, and their teacher had revealed to them that they’d have a project due within a week on what their combined talents would be. What would a gambler and— whatever the hell her talent is— be together? At least if she were paired up with Byakuya, they could just work on the ultimate rich citizen together.

Kyoko’s eyes widened like she didn’t know that she was going to be paired up with Celestia when they were the only two left. Celestia frowned to herself. She did want to speak with Kyoko more, but partnered projects were just way too awkward for her. Also judging by the fact that she usually will make her partner do all the work and she would claim it as a group effort, and the fact that Kyoko seems like a difficult one to manipulate, this would not be a very fun project.

Celestia frowned to herself, resting her head in her arms on the desk. Usually, she’d be striving for perfection even when sitting, but the thought of an assignment due quite soon had drained whatever inspiration she had to be proper. They hadn’t even begun working yet and she was already exhausted.

She hadn’t even realized when class was over that day, falling asleep by the time everyone had left. A hand roughly shaking her by the shoulder brought her back.

“Get up,” the voice coldly spoke. Celestia growled lightly, picking up her head from her arms. Kyoko was standing over her, an annoyed expression on her normally emotionless face. “If we have a project together, we might as well get it over with as quickly as possible.”

“Does that mean we are starting now?” Celestia questioned, standing from her desk gracefully.

“Preferably, yes,” Kyoko answered, turning her back to the gambler. “Follow me to my dorm.”

Celestia walked side by side with the other girl, keeping up with Kyoko’s annoyingly fast pace. Once they had reached her dorm room, Kyoko suddenly stopped. Celestia let out a noise of confusion.

“Actually, could we go to your dorm for this?” she suddenly asked, spinning on her heels to face the other.

“I do not have my room prepared,” Celestia hesitantly replied. "Is your dorm that much of an issue?”

“Somewhat,” Kyoko responded. “Would the library work for you?”

Celestia nodded, wordlessly following the girl around the corner to reach the library. Along the way, she couldn’t help but wonder why Kyoko was so insistent on staying out of her room. She seemed like a secretive person, but to be that protective about something seemed a tad bit extreme.

The gambler brushed it off, for the time being, watching as Kyoko walked past her. She sighed, following, and sitting at the table with her. The conversation was delayed by the silence caused by both being too anxious to speak for different reasons.

“Why don’t we just work on your talent?” Kyoko offered.

“Do you not have one?”

“Nope.”

Celestia chuckled. “A liar such as I can pick apart that one word easily, darling,” she smiled. “I would like to be informed of your talent. If I must, I do swear not to tell.”

Kyoko looked away from the other. “Fine,” she responded. “I’m… the Ultimate Detective.”

“Why you kept that a secret is beyond me. Doesn’t it feel nicer to have that out to at least one person?”

“Not really,” the detective spoke honestly, “you did _just_ say you were a liar.”

Celestia giggled. “That right now is a non-issue. Today, we should begin our project.” Kyoko nodded in confirmation. “How would we combine a gambler and detective if they’re both complete opposites?”

“Ultimate Secret Agent,” the purple-eyed girl promptly replied, eyes showing the slightest bit of pride from her quick thinking. “They could hide their identity and get information on predators by acting like one of them.”

Celestia stiffened. The unintentional jab at hiding her true self didn’t sit well with her. Kyoko didn’t notice this, as she already had a pen and paper ready that Celestia only noticed it when she began writing. Her style was smooth cursive, easily readable, and neat as ever. She looked back up at the other with expectant purple eyes.

“Any other ideas? Or are we going with a secret agent?”

“Y-yes, that works,” Celestia stuttered, cursing internally at the unwanted shakiness of her voice.

“You seem to have an issue with it.”

“I assure you, I do not.” Celestia’s smile was seemingly enough for Kyoko to back off since she nodded and wrote down the words _‘ultimate secret agent’_ in her elegant style.

The gambler was still very tense. The comment shouldn’t have affected her much, yet here she was, trying to steady her breathing as much as possible.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kyoko questioned, pen dropping from her hand and hitting the table with a quiet tap.

“Positive,” Celestia nodded, still focusing on her breathing. “Is there a-anything else we can do on the subject today?”

“I need to have the organizer done for use to begin our essay. Until then, we just needed an idea, which came much quicker than I anticipated.”

“Well, that’s good.”

Silence fell upon the two as Celestia stood up, still somewhat unstable on her feet. “I’m assuming my presence is unneeded until the essay portion of the project?”

“Correct.”

“Then I will be out of your way.” With a noticeably fake smile, Celestia exited the library. She instantly went and leaned against the wall. She felt tears coming to her eyes much faster than she would have liked. She shook her head, determined to at least make it to her dorm before breaking down.

The journey to the dorm hallway was long for Celestia, but in reality, was only a few minutes. Her head started to hurt due to something unknown to the girl, but she continued until her door was closed with her safely inside of her residence. Her slender figure fell to the ground in distress, tears finally streaming down her cheeks with no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Why did Taeko have to exist in the first place? Why can’t Celestia be her own person without constant reminders of what she never wanted to appear as again weighing her down?

Her chest hurt; she was hyperventilating. She clutched her chest tightly, breath shallower each exhale. Her mind entirely went blank except for the name Taeko, as she clung onto herself against the wall. Heart almost pounding out of her chest, she closed her eyes. It was getting harder to breathe by the second. She was going to die from a panic attack, and no one would discover her body for at least a week.

Celestia saw one of her twin drills lying on the carpeted floor—it must have snapped off when she fell to the ground. Her image must be horrendous, she must look disgusting. Taeko was slipping out and it was completely unacceptable. Disgraceful, even.

The faint sound of a series of knocks broke through the loud ringing in Celestia’s ears. She couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination or not at first, but when the door opened, she tensed up. She had forgotten to lock the door, and now someone would see her in the most vulnerable state she thought she had ever been in.

A flash of light purple hair coming into the room and back out had the girl wanting to cry more. Of all people, why couldn’t it be Mukuro or Maki, or someone else she actually knew well? Of all people, why Kyoko? This was just a way for the detective to laugh at her and hate her forever, just like how everyone hated Taeko; that stupid, miserable li—

“Celestia, I need you to look at me.”

She reluctantly lifted her head. Kyoko had gotten down to her level, eyes staring into Celestia’s own red ones.

“You need to calm down, okay?” Kyoko spoke slower than usual. “Can I touch you?”

Celestia nodded, breathing still unstable. Kyoko slowly reached her hand out towards the other, resting it on her shoulder as she scooted closer. She took a deep breath, focus not leaving the panicking gambler.

“Work on your breathing,” Kyoko rubbed her shoulder soothingly. “Breathe with me, can you do that?’

The girl nodded quickly as she followed the other’s breathing pattern to the best of her abilities. When that didn’t work, Kyoko had another idea right up her sleeve.

“I’ll count to five, and you just work on steadying yourself. I can’t have you passing out right now. One.”

Celestia closed her eyes, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“Two.”

She drastically slowed her breathing, inhaling through her nose, and out her mouth.

“Good. Three,’ Kyoko encouraged, shifting closer to the other.

Celestia reopened her eyes, seeing Kyoko much closer than expected. She was back at a steady breathing pace, thoughts recollecting in her head.

“You did well,” the detective said. “I didn’t even get to four or five.”

There was no response as Celestia kept continuing to keep her breathing in check. The fact that Kyoko had seen her in such a weak state didn’t help calm her down at all. Her eyes fell to the floor, blinking away leftover tears that refused to fall.

Kyoko touched the remaining drill softly. “Should I remove it?” she asked politely. When she received a slow nod, she unclipped the extension with ease. Standing back up, she retrieved the other from the ground and placed them back on the mannequin head she assumed they belonged on.

Celestia felt even smaller than she did when Kyoko first walked in. Her extensions were a huge part of her persona, and now that’s gone, along with all hope of Kyoko forgetting this ever happened.

“I’m not going to tell anyone about this,” Kyoko said, sitting back down next to Celestia. “I promise, its only fair after you said you wouldn’t expose my ultimate talent.”

“Th-thank you,” her voice wavered in and out of her accent as she spoke, but at this point, a stutter and revealing her real voice weren’t the worst outcomes of the situation.

“I hate to say this, but you do realize that I’m going to need some sort of explanation for this eventually so I can help prevent it.”

“Later,” Celestia replied, hugging her knees against her chest. “Not able to talk about it now.” All hope of keeping her accent had vanished from her mind.

Kyoko nodded. “Do you want me to stay here to make sure you’re okay for the rest of the night?”

“I-I mean, I don’t want to bother you, I’m sure you’re busy and all,” Celestia spoke quickly.

“I... can bring my work here,” Kyoko offered. “As long as whatever you see on it remains between us.”

“Deal,” Celestia smiled, standing from the breakdown spot. Kyoko did as well.

“I’ll get dressed in my room and I’ll bring my work stuff over. No breakdowns until then, alright?”

“I’ll certainly try.”

With another nod, the detective exited the room. Celestia quickly changed into her nightgown, not daring to waste any time when Kyoko came back. Her eyes landed on herself in the mirror and she sighed in disappointment. Those most of her makeup was ruined, unmasking her real face was the issue she had wanted to avoid.

Without any more unnecessary hesitation, Celestia started to wipe the makeup off her face. Since the tears did most of the work, all she needed now was to remove the foundation. This would reveal unsightly freckles, but she could not risk sleeping in any amount of makeup.

Next were her contacts. Those damn contacts she had slept in a week before. She always checked to make sure her eyes weren’t read before she went to sleep, instead making sure they’re a, to her, boring brown color.

Celestia glared at herself. This was not Celestia, but Taeko. Her hatred started boiling back up and she wanted to scream again. However, her wishes were cut short when the knocking on her door sounded. Taking one last look at herself, she went to the door, opening it.

“Freckles? Never would’ve guessed,” Kyoko commented, dropping a pillow and blanket on the floor, a laptop and file on top of them.

“I hate them,” Celestia admitted, locking the door behind her.

“I think they look fine.”

“Whatever you say.” At this point, she had no reason to bring back her accent. Without her drills, makeup, elegant outfit, and contacts, there was no point in continuing her persona. Not to mention the fact that Kyoko already saw her mid-breakdown.

She laid on her bed on her stomach, watching Kyoko open her laptop.

“Is there an issue?” Kyoko looked up, meeting her gaze.

“Not at all, I’m just curious,” Celestia wore a smile, chin resting in her hands. “What are you working on?”

The screen lit up with a document of too many words for the goth to process. “A case for the police force,” Kyoko responded eventually. “A series of kidnappings.”

“Oh really?” Celestia grew interested, looking over to try to read the screen.

“Yes, are you familiar with Aoi Asahina?”

“Yes, she’s in our class.” Celestia couldn’t help but wonder by Aoi was being brought up. Was she really…?

Kyoko frowned. “She disappeared, right?” A nod from Celestia made her continue. “We presume she was kidnapped. I will admit, everyone in our class is a possible suspect, including you.”

Celestia scrunched up her face. “Me?”

“I can’t eliminate you as a possibility unless I’m sure it isn’t you. Consider this as a trial for yourself.”

“You helped me with a panic attack, and you still think I would kidnap someone?”

“I believe in innocent until proven guilty, but your entire class is suspicious.” Kyoko tied her hair back with the ribbon that kept her braid together. “I hope you understand.”

“May I offer assistance?”

Kyoko turned her head quickly. “Huh?”

“You heard me,” Celestia confirmed. “I would like to help you. I can inform you of any suspicious behaviors or actions I see. I pay attention to everything around me, it would prove no problem.”

The detective pondered the thought. “Once I rule you out as a suspect, I will accept your offer,” she finally said.

“I’ll help wherever I can.” With that, Celestia turned her back to Kyoko with a yawn. “Until then, Goodnight Kyoko.”

Kyoko uncharacteristically smiled to herself, looking back down at her mountain of papers.

“Good night, Celestia.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> breakdowns are fun to write.


	6. telling the truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol hi have a chapter :)

The morning announcement rang out in Celestia’s room and all throughout the school, awakening the detective first. Initially, she didn’t know where she was, or when she even had fallen asleep. All she saw was her laptop still on and hot as hell, along with a pile of papers her head was laying on. Her mind was fuzzy from how chaotic last night really was.

Last night…

Kyoko glanced back at Celestia’s quiet sleeping form, obviously unbothered by the loud announcement. She looked peaceful and calm, much unlike the night prior. The purple-haired girl frowned to herself, recalling the previous events.

_Kyoko knocked on the door, tapping her foot as she waited. She just needed to ask Celestia another question for their project, one she forgot to ask when they were together at the library. The door never opened, so Kyoko decided to push it open herself._

_It was empty upon her first inspection, but what caused her to turn her head was the quiet sniffling coming from the side. Her eyes met watery red ones as Celestia hugged her knees to her chest._

_Kyoko stared for a second, unknowing of what to do. She knew very well how bad she was with emotions, which brought up the idea to just leave. Therefore, she entered the hallway on a whim but stayed to stare at the door in front of her. Maybe Chihiro could help her instead?_

_No, she couldn’t make someone else help the poor girl. Kyoko took a breath, bracing to walk back into Celestia’s room for a second time. Celestia had not moved, still crying, and keeping herself in a ball. Kyoko frowned and closed the door behind her, instantly lowering to match the gambler’s height. She was breathing heavily, hyperventilating even, and missing one of her drills._

_So, they were fake…_

_Kyoko shook her head, disregarding the thought and focusing back on Celestia, trying to calm her down to the best of her abilities._

“Staring at me this early in the morning? I don’t even have makeup on.”

Celestia chuckled to herself as Kyoko’s eyes widened ever so slightly at her voice laced in French. A very faint blush could be even seen if anyone were looking close enough.

“I’m sorry,” Kyoko quickly apologized, looking away. Celestia’s smiled of pride faded once she remembered their predicament. She dropped the accent in an instant, looking away.

“No, I’m, um… sorry for last night,” she managed to speak, playing with a strand of hair. “I’m sure it was uncomfortable for you, even unsightly.”

Kyoko’s flushed expression faltered into one of sympathy. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “I’m just glad I got you to calm down.”

“Thank you,” Celestia replied.

The detective nodded as she released her hair from the low ponytail she slept in, brushing through it with her gloves. The silence was becoming awkward since the conversation was left off with more to be said from both of them. Celestia moved the covers off of her body, stepping onto the carpeted floor. She yawned, looking at Kyoko before yawning.

“May I ask what caused such a reaction?” Kyoko asked.

Celestia looked down at the floor. “It’s nothing,” she said dismissively, waving her hand and glancing back up.

“Your breakdown last night sure says otherwise.”

“If you must know,” Celestia sighed, walking into the bathroom to avoid eye contact. “It was from the project we were assigned.”

Kyoko nodded to herself. “Stress?”

“I do not get stressed,” Celestia commented, taking out her contact lenses case. “It was your idea. The… secret agent thing.”

“How did that cause a breakdown?”

Celestia growled to herself in annoyance. “It just wasn’t a good day, okay?” She huffed, slipping in one contact at a time, blinking profusely after placing them correctly. “I don’t want to go into details.”

“I need to know,” Kyoko insisted, “I want to prevent that from happening again. How did our project upset you?”

“I said it was _nothing.”_

“You’re lying.”

The gambler crossed her arms, glaring back at Kyoko. “How are you so sure?”

“You told me that you’re a liar yesterday,” Kyoko shot back. “Don’t think I forgot that.”

Celestia wanted to kick this girl out of her room. She was intruding far beyond where she should be, far beyond the wall Celestia had build around herself. She swore to herself that no one was to know of Taeko, and she damn well would keep her word.

“Please,” she began, accent reapplied, “do not press this subject any further. It was no issue, just an insufficient day.”

Kyoko shook her head dejectedly. “Fine,” she mumbled, walking over to the door. “You’re not leaving until you tell me what happened yesterday.”

“What?” Celestia blinked. “Who are you to tell me I cannot leave my own dorm room?”

“What will you do about it?” A smug smile appeared on Kyoko’s face.

“Find whatever administrator will listen,” Celestia said, “If I must, I will contact the principal.”

Kyoko laughed, sarcasm coating the sound. “The principal is my father; I don’t think you’d win that bet.”

Celestia stood still for a moment, contemplating any possible ways she had so that she could get out of this mess. She couldn’t move Kyoko; she was too weak, physically speaking. She couldn’t call any school staff because of the power Kyoko has, being the principal’s daughter. She had run out of ideas, staring angrily at the piercing purple eyes glaring back at her.

“Alright, I surrender,” Celestia said with another sigh. She left the bathroom, annoyed by the fact she couldn’t put on any makeup to hide her freckles and other flaws. Sitting on her bed, she looked at the detective in front of her.

Kyoko looked back expectantly, braiding her har while doing so.

Celestia frowned, realizing she had to start the conversation. “I don’t like opening up to anyone, especially someone like you,” she began. “Just know that before I explain.”

“Someone like me?”

“Legal workers,” Celestia answered. “They’ve always been a problem of mine.”

“What will I do, tell the police force what upsets you?” Kyoko responded. Celestia glared back in annoyance. “Noted. I won’t do such a thing, especially because I’m forcing you to talk.”

The gambler took a deep breath. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it upon realizing that she had no idea where to begin. Kyoko’s constant gaze didn’t help at all to lessen her anxiety.

She opened her mouth again. “I guess… I should begin by saying that almost everything you know about me is a lie. That includes my name, family history, and attitude.”

“I figured,” Kyoko cut in. “No one who is purely Japanese has a name such as yours.”

“You’re walking on thin ice, detective,” Celestia grumbled. “I went by Taeko Yasuhiro as a kid, I lived in a middle-class home, and Celestia is how I coped with everything.”

“That’s… extremely straightforward of you,” Kyoko commented. “I thought you would’ve stalled.”

“I’d prefer if this explanation ends quickly so I can actually go to class.”

The detective crossed her arms. “Well, that may have to wait a while longer,” she said. “I have questions.”

“What else could you possibly want to know?”

“You feel the need to create a new persona over being normal,” Kyoko spoke. “Correct?”

Celestia nodded.

“Are you trying to keep away legal trouble?”

“I— no!” Celestia shook her head, “What do you take me for, a criminal?”

“I’m only checking. I—”

A ringing noise came from Kyoko. She looked down at herself, confusion glossing over her face. She reached into the pocket of her pants, pulling out her phone. She glared at it for a moment, confusion increasing as each ring sounded.

“Excuse me for one moment.”

Kyoko pressed the green answer button, greeting the caller respectfully. Celestia swung her legs over the edge of her bed, hands in her lap, listening to the call happening in front of her.

“It just happened? Bu—”

Kyoko stopped mid-sentence.

“No, do not interrupt me,” she said, frustration showing in her voice. “We’re all stressed Shuichi, just let me speak. I thought we were narrowing down on a suspect, why are you switching things up?”

Celestia placed her head on her hand, leaning against her bedpost as she nervously tried to follow along with the conversation.

“Fine, send out a search party as soon as you can. I’ll be there quickly.”

Kyoko took the phone from her ear, sighing after she ended the call. She looked to her side to see Celesta’s expectant glare. She took a breath, placing her phone back where it was before talking.

“There’s been another kidnapping.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is literally the only fic im working on. i have a danganronpa oneshot book and im halfway through a saimatsu oneshot but like... celesgiri yk?
> 
> anyways, who's the next victim? guess in the comments if you want lol  
> hint: they've spoken in the fic already :)


	7. intimidating the assistant for fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am soooo sorry for the longer wait. i tried to write this entire week, but school has really been kicking my ass (i still have a book to read that im procrastinating) an because of how tiring school has been, ive been falling asleep earlier than i'd like to. along with school, i had a huge rush of writers block.  
> i cant promise when the next chapter will be, but please dont worry, ill be sure not to abandon this story.

Celestia blinked. “Who is it?”

Kyoko looked down, collecting the objects she had brought the night prior. “Tsumugi Shirogane,” she said, purposefully avoiding the Celestia’s eye. “She was just reported missing last night.”

“Tsumugi?!” Celestia gasped. Her heart dropped. At least with Aoi, she didn’t really know her well, and couldn’t say her disappearance really affected her all that much. But in the case of Tsumugi, they were great friends and saw each other weekly. She felt a pit in her stomach and tears pricking at her eyes.

She wiped them away quickly and shook her head. She would not cry in front of Kyoko _again._

“I take it you know her?” Kyoko asked, taking Celestia’s curt nod as a response. “Well, the bright side is that this eliminates you as a suspect since I was with you the entire night. You couldn’t have snuck out since I was awake most of the night.”

“Most of the night? That’s unhealthy.”

“I was working.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Celestia snapped. “Tonight, get more rest. But right now, take me wherever you’re going.”

Kyoko narrowed her eyes. “I can’t just take you—”

“Let me help,” the gambler pleaded, red eyes locked on Kyoko. “You said I cannot be the culprit, and last night you told me I can help after you arrive at that conclusion. The verdict has been reached, so allow me to assist you.”

“I can’t; you’re biased,” Kyoko spoke. “You have a personal connection to one of the victims. You’ll act recklessly.”

“I don’t care,” Celestia mumbled. “I’m going to find whoever took Tsumugi; with your help or without it.” She opened the door to her room, glaring back at Kyoko with a look telling her to _get the hell out_.

Kyoko sighed. “You’re so stubborn.”

“Get out so I can get myself ready to leave.”

“Wait, you’re serious?” the detective laughed coldheartedly. “You can’t go out on your own, especially with kidnappers loose.”

“Watch me,” Celestia threatened.

The purple eyes staring back indicated that Kyoko was unphased by the threat. She breathed out slowly. “Get yourself dressed; we’ll meet up at the entrance and I’ll take you to the firm with me.”

Celestia grinned smugly. “I always get my way,” she spoke to herself as Kyoko turned her back. “I won’t be long!”

“I sure hope not,” Kyoko mumbled, closing the door behind her.

* * *

“So, this is where you work,” Celestia mumbled. She inspected the boring looking place with a look of disgust. “It has no flavor.”

“Flavor doesn’t matter when you’re piecing together crimes,” Kyoko responded, looking around. “Do not leave my side, alright?”

“Hm? Why?”

“You’re a gambler. That’s illegal in Japan,” Kyoko deadpanned.

Celestia scoffed, following Kyoko. Her face didn’t show it, but her emotions were mixed. One side of her felt horrible about Tsumugi and wanted to lock herself in her room, but the other was excited to be spending more time with Kyoko. She knew she should be feeling sad, but the detective is clouding almost all thoughts of the cosplayer.

Her musing was cut short upon seeing another person speaking with Kyoko. Celestia couldn’t help but cringe at his fashion sense. What was with the hat covering part of his face?

“Celestia,” Kyoko called. “This is Shuichi, my partner for this case.”

“I see,” Celestia nodded. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Uh, same to you,” Shuichi muttered quietly. Celestia scowled at his soft voice.

“Anyways,” the purple-haired girl started, shifting her focus to Shuichi. “Begin explaining.”

Shuichi nodded. “R-right, she was last seen with Maki Harukawa before the nighttime announcement at Hope’s Peak. Maki came to me this morning and said that she wasn’t in her dorm and no one could get ahold of her.”

Kyoko sat at the desk next to the group, pulling out a file from the drawer. “At night before ten, do you know of anyone else out at that time?”

Shuichi shook his head sadly. “I was with Kokichi last night dealing with his antics, it can’t be him.”

“Don’t forget the fact that it could be multiple people.”

“Y-yes, but he’s been at my dorm the past few disappearances.”

“Distraction maybe?”

“I doubt it.”

Kyoko looked unsure but shrugged it off for now. She glanced up, meeting Celestia’s red eyes. “Feel free to chime in at any point,” she said.

“I have nothing to say,” Celestia replied. “You already know my alibi.”

The boy detective looked at Celestia with a perplexed gaze before switching to Kyoko. Celestia glared back and he practically shrunk on the spot. She smiled with satisfaction at the impression she left on Shuichi.

“If you have nothing to say, can you at please least stop intimidating my partner?” Kyoko rolled her eyes. “We actually have a culprit to find.”

“Didn’t I say I’m here to help?” Celestia took her eyes off Shuichi to look at Kyoko. “I do not plan on letting someone who took one of my friends get away easily.”

“Fine,” Kyoko grumbled, beginning to write on the papers in front of her. “You have a friend group; I saw them at the café. Any of them seem suspicious?”

“Maki reported it, and Peko is always quiet,” the gambler answered. “I haven’t had the chance to speak to either of them today, so I may not be much help.”

Shuichi grabbed a pen from a mug on the desk and leaned over Kyoko’s shoulder to see what she was writing. With the pen, he pointed at a few words she had written.

“You think it’s Mukuro?” He asked, eyebrows raised.

Celestia narrowed her eyes, waiting on Kyoko’s response.

“She’s a possibility, yes,” she confirmed. “But I’m not entirely sure.”

“What precisely leads to it being her?” Celestia challenged, eyes daring Kyoko to speak.

“To start off with, she’s a soldier. She should have no issue kidnapping anyone with her skills,” Kyoko began. “She’s friends with all of the disappearing Hope’s Peak students.”

“Hold on a moment, isn’t there only two kidnappings?” Celestia tilted her head.

Kyoko shook her head. “No, you only know of two. Everyone is trying to keep this under wraps. You already know Aoi and Tsumugi, but Tenko Chabashira and Ibuki Mioda have been reported missing as well.” She scribbled something out on her paper.

“There isn’t even a pattern,” Shuichi added, albeit a little nervous to speak to the gambler. “We thought they went for only athletic students, but Ibuki is barely on the sporty side and Tsumugi wants nothing to do with sports unless it’s a sports anime.”

“All we have is that the victims are all female,” Kyoko finished, “besides that, we’re out of ideas.”

“Oh my,” Celestia’s eyes widened. “If this I difficult for the two ultimate detectives, I can only imagine how hard of a time a group of normal detectives would experience with this case.”

“Wait, how does this all even lead to Mukuro?” Shuichi asked.

“She has personal attachments to all the kidnapped students and shows no signs of remorse.”

Celestia frowned. “That’s wrong, she gets tense and uncomfortable at the mention of a disappearance, based off of what I saw the first day Aoi was reported missing.”

“Have you considered the idea that maybe she gets uncomfortable because she causes these disappearances?”

Kyoko’s eyes stared into Celestia’s, confidence unrelenting. Celestia clenched her fists, growing more angered by the second. How dare this detective accuse one of her friends of kidnapping another one of her friends? She glanced at Shuichi, who nodded in agreement. She couldn’t believe this.

Celestia crossed her arms, taking a breath to calm herself down.

“Your logic is flawed,” she spat, speaking harsher than she initially had intended. “I know Mukuro, and she’d never hurt any of her friends.”

“Sounds like someone is letting personal feelings into the investigation,” Kyoko smirked. “Didn’t I predict this happening?”

“I’m not, I’m saying I know her, and she wouldn’t stoop to such a level.”

“But do you _really_ know her?”

Kyoko’s annoyingly smug expression enraged Celestia even farther. She wanted to slap that smirk off the girl’s face with no hesitation, but she controlled herself. She took another breath, determined to keep herself from making a scene.

“U-um…” Shuichi stammered before the gambler could say anything. “Maybe we shouldn’t argue over a culprit we don’t even know is guilty or not?”

Celestia’s cold glare at Shuichi was just the trick to get him to shut his mouth.

“I can’t comprehend this,” Celestia rambled. “You see me in possibly my worst mental state I’ve been in, quite literally breaking down, force me to tell you personal information I wasn’t even very interested in sharing after only a few days of knowing you, and you won’t even believe me when I say the kidnapper cannot be Mukuro?”

Shuichi slowly got up from his chair next to Kyoko, not so subtly leaving the room.

“It isn’t that simple,” Kyoko stated calmly, seemingly oblivious to how upset she had made Celestia. “You’re using emotions in a debate about facts. That’s not how a professional investigation works, and I won’t sit here and listen to whatever nonsense you speak about ‘knowing’ this girl.”

“Kyoko, we’re friends! That may be difficult for your lonely little mind to understand, but I know how she acts!”

“She’s a _soldier,_ Taeko. She’s unpredictable.”

Celestia froze, glaring daggers at the girl detective. “I’m sorry, what did you just call me?”

Kyoko noticed her mistake too, instantly shifting her gaze from her paperwork to Celestia. If the gambler weren’t currently about to go through a fit of rage, she might have been able to see the glimmer of regret in the detective’s eyes.

They remained silent, Kyoko not daring to make a mistake with her word choice. She knew Celestia would be a valuable asset for her investigations, and her little slip up may have cost her just that.

Celestia nodded to herself. “Okay,” she said, turning on her heels. “If I find any information on the perpetrator not being Mukuro, expect a talk from me.”

With that, Kyoko could only watch as Celestia strode towards the exit. She could almost feel her heart drop from its place in her chest. Yes, this girl was extremely important if she wanted to reveal the culprit of the kidnappings, but the way she left sort of bothered the detective. She should’ve kept her mouth shut on who she thought the kidnapper was.

She felt greatly disappointed in herself for a variety of reasons but had to push that aside when another figure approached her.

“Grandfather,” she greeted. “Did Shuichi send you?”

“…No,” he replied, confused but ignoring the question. “I’m here for a progress report. Any confirmed ideas on the culprit yet?”

Kyoko hesitated, looking back down at the flooring. “I do not,” she responded truthfully, ready for another long night of work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol they argued and shuichi wanted nothing to do with it✌


	8. quick make up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh so i just found out after months of not hearing back my school application for advanced art, i randomly got in. im literally going to have like no time to write wtf

“It’s quiet.”

Celestia looked up from her cup of tea to see Peko staring at her.

“We don’t have Tsumugi here, what do you expect?” Maki brought up, gaze shifting from below her to Peko.

It had been a few days after Tsumugi’s recent disappearance, and the group decided to still meet without her. It wasn’t to be disrespectful, just that the coffee shop visits were all they were used to on Sundays. It was admittedly different without the cosplayer around, and no one dared respond to Maki when she brought up Tsumugi, so the table remained silent.

Though externally, silence overwhelmed the friend group, Celestia was having an internal battle with herself. Being a couple of days after Tsumugi’s abduction, that also meant a couple of days after her argument with Kyoko. It had been awkward in class, but Kyoko said she would handle the project on her own for a while. Celestia took that as a blessing after their disagreement days prior.

It wasn’t her fault really; that was the conclusion she came to as she stared at the teacup. They wouldn’t have even argued if Kyoko hadn’t brought up that _disgusting_ name she should be grateful to even know of! It wasn’t Celestia’s problem that Kyoko slipped up, she should’ve known that if she didn’t go by the name, she wouldn’t want to be referred to by it. She’s a _detective,_ for the love of all things holy!

To make it worse, before the argument, Kyoko tried to push the kidnapping blame to Mukuro! Celestia internally scowled at the memory. She knew Mukuro wouldn’t do such a thing; not with how she acts around people she doesn’t know. And when she even is with people who she considers close, she’s a complete asshole, but in a nice and teasing way.

What bothered Celestia the most was the act that she felt bad about everything. Why should she feel back when none of it was even caused by her? In the end, there was nothing to feel guilty about, so why did her chest feel tight with sadness when she was reminded of the detective?

Celestia’s eyes widened. Why _did_ her heart tighten at the thought of hurting Kyoko?

She shook her head. Of all possibilities, it is surely not that she would have feelings for her. Hell, they still barely know anything about each other. Well, Celestia has no idea regarding anything about Kyoko. The girl never opened up about her life to the gambler, which only irritated her further. She found Celestia in such a vulnerable state and won’t even trust her enough to say one thing about herself!

No, no, no! Why was she even wanting to know more about Kyoko? Why was she so intrigued by the detective? Her mind was so scattered, she couldn’t even keep up with herself.

“You’re deep in thought,” Maki commented, taking Celesta out of her internal panicked state. “Want to share what’s got you so focused?”

“Honestly… no,” Celestia answered.

“Venting can help relieve stress,” Peko added. “You seem worried about something, and we’re here to help if you need it.”

Both girls looked back at Peko. That was the most supportive thing she had really said during their meetups. Peko blushed, looking down at the floor at the sudden attention.

“You know, she’s not wrong,” the assassin spoke.

Celestia frowned. She definitely was not ready to speak about this issue, especially considering the fact that her sexual orientation was being tested due to current circumstances. Her first reaction was to refuse right away, but another part of her thought it would be a good idea. Maybe Maki and Peko could give her some advice.

“I suppose… I could spare a few details.”

Both killers immediately perked up at the sentence.

“Remember the purple-haired girl that visited a week ago?”

Maki made a sound of confirmation, Peko nodded thereafter.

“She transferred to Hope’s Peak. We got stuck with a project together,” Celestia breathed, thinking of how to speak about the next parts. “Long story short, I wasn’t feeling well, and she helped me two days into her arrival. Fast forward a day later, we argue and though I know I’m right, I still feel bad.”

“Stubborn people liking someone else is such a pain,” Maki sighed.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

Before the other could justify their statement, the all too familiar bell above the door rung throughout the café. Celestia looked over, not bothering to move her head. Her eyes caught onto icy blue ones in an instant, and the figure practically hopped over.

“You’re Celestia, the one in my class, right?”

Celestia glared upwards. Of all people that could’ve walked in, why must it be Azumi?

“Yes, I am,” Celestia muttered dismissively.

Peko watched the drummer carefully along with Maki.

“Woah you two are scary, chill out! I just wanted to tell her something!” Azumi grinned. “I’ll be out of your way in no time, babes!”

“And what is it you are here to inform me of?”

“Weeellll, you know how I’m close with Kyoko, riiiiight?”

The cheerful tone of Azumi’s voice only annoyed Celestia more as she recalled the event of the two walking into the classroom, hand in hand. It still bothered Celestia a week later.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes!” Azumi declared. “Anyways, I dropped by her dorm this morning because like, why not, and she wanted me to come to get you!”

“Huh?” Celestia was confused. Was this her way of apologizing; sending a messenger to tell her to speak with her instead of doing it herself? And why was Azumi able to enter Kyoko’s dorm, but she couldn’t?

“I’m just laying down what she told me,” The green-haired girl shrugged.

The gambler shifted her gaze from Azumi to Maki and Peko across from her. Peko hadn’t let up her glare, still unsure of the bubbly girl beside her. Maki, on the other hand, her lips curled up ever so slightly at Celestia.

“You should go,” she said. “It’s most likely an apology, don’t you want that?”

“I…” Celestia trailed off. She genuinely didn’t know at that point. She started blaming herself for getting so mad, storming out without explanation, though it was somewhat self-explanatory. “I’m not sure, but I suppose it won’t hurt anyone if I go.”

“There you go,” Maki’s smile grew.

* * *

Celestia knocked on the door three times exactly, butterflies fluttering in her chest. She was slightly nervous, judging by the fact that they haven’t spoken for a few days.

“It’s open.”

That’s all Celestia needed to push down whatever regret she had about opening the door and just went through with it.

Kyoko was on the bed, laptop in front of her, the screen reflecting off her face. She looked tired, dark purple bags under her eyes like she hadn’t slept in days. Celestia hated to say it, but she really was not looking the best at that point. On a wall in the room, there was a board of students and their profiles, red lines drawn around them, and even over some of the pictures.

The detective continued typing away on her computer, fingers unrelenting. It was like she didn’t even know who had just entered, but the gambler knew that wasn’t true due to the fact that she was invited in moments earlier.

Kyoko closed the laptop with a yawn, looking up at the red-eyed girl. “My apologies in advance, I’m tired today,” she said, rubbing her eyes with another yawn.

Celestia shrugged it off, noting that her yawning was kind of cute.

No, cute in a friendly way, right?

“You’re still mad at me, I presume?”

Celestia nodded.

“Understandable. I will say I was not thinking straight when I called you by that name, but in my defense, you were arguing against information I had worked days on based on pure emotion,” Kyoko looked down. “I tried not to show it, but honestly, that ticked me off.”

The gambler was about to retort, but Kyoko continuing left her quiet.

“I have been observing Mukuro the past few days, taking in body mannerisms and speaking patterns. It seems you were right, and I apologize for doubting you because of my overconfidence.”

Celestia stayed quiet. So, it _was_ an apology she was brought here for.

Kyoko shifted on her bed, moving her laptop to the desk next to her. “I want to offer you to be one of my assistants. You can deny the job, but I think you’ll be a great help in this case.”

“So that’s why you apologized? To get me to be a part of your investigation for your own benefit?”

“Not at all,” the detective replied calmly. “It was an offer since you asked to help earlier this week.”

Celestia brought a hand to her face in thought. She was still mad at Kyoko, but the apology itself sounded sincere enough. She would also be able to slowly start spending time with her again, despite barely doing so before their argument. She couldn’t think of any cons of helping with the investigation at the current point, besides the fact that she may just be being used for her analyzing skills. The pros easily outweighed that though.

“I’ll accept,” Celestia finally responded. “You need all the help you can get. Especially in your state right now.”

“I’m simply just tired, it does not set me back,” Kyoko yawned again.

“Mhm,” Celestia smiled to herself. This apology thing worked out much quicker than she anticipated, _and_ she didn’t even have to apologize! She spun around, facing the doorway. “See you tomorrow, detective,” she said before opening it and walking out.

She may still be cautious of the sleepy detective, but it felt nice to be on speaking terms again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soo they made up already lol. i have more issues planned though dont worry. this argument was just a preview of what's to come.
> 
> stan azumi fujimoto🤩
> 
> also this is random but my friend came over a few days ago and like half the time we were just vibing on the celesgiri tag on tik tok. it was amazing.


	9. telling more lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry again for the long-ish wait, i again had schoolwork and due to unfortunate issues in my personal life, i felt uncomfortable wiritng about the topic this entire story is based on. but here i am, and happy early birthday to kyoko since i know i wont update this on the 6th. be prepared for a birthday oneshot for her tho!

Celestia took a breath, looking at herself in the mirror. She glared daggers at her reflection, anger evident in her red eyes. It wasn’t because of how she looked; she thought her makeup was to perfection and her outfit and hair never change. She kept her eyes focused on the ones staring back at her, contemplating emotions.

Her mind was buzzing with questions for herself that she couldn’t seem to answer confidently. Why did her heart jump when she thought of or talked to Kyoko? Why was she now watching what she was saying around her? Why did she care how the detective felt? Why is Kyoko even being thought of in the first place?!

She shook her head, closing her eyes. This was all Taeko’s doing. If Taeko never existed, Celestia wouldn’t find herself falling for a detective. She reopened her eyes, frustration, and self-hared building up within her.

“I hate you,” she grumbled to the girl staring back at her from the glass. “How dare you contaminate Celestia with your horrid emotions?”

She shook her head. Now was not the time for another identity breakdown, not when she had a class in less than twenty minutes. Celestia took another breath, finally peeling her eyes off her reflection.

Her phone buzzed quickly, lighting up with a message.

_gungopewpew: im going to be m.i.a. for the next week or so. this abduction shit is on my nerves and if the police cant handle it, i will. im finding tenko and tsumugi myself, along with any others who were taken._

She stared at her phone blankly. Why was she being told this?

_ludenberger: i respect your confidence, but what am i to do with this information?_

_gungopewpew: just to tell you that im not kidnapped or anything, yk? youre the only person im telling about this, so if anyone asks, make up some lie about where i am because ik youre good at that._

Celestia smiled to herself. She _was_ rather good with her lies.

_ludenberger: understood. please stay safe while you are out._

_gungopewpew: if im not back within two weeks, notify someone._

_ludenberger: you have my word._

A knock on her door distracted her from her phone. Her body practically moved on its own as her heels clicked against the floor, opening the door with ease. Kyoko stared back at her, a hand on her hip and papers in her other. Her expression was serious, but that did little to intimidate the goth.

“Kyoko, darling,” Celestia greeted with a smile. “Do you have a reason for dropping by before class?”

“Walk with me,” Kyoko asked—no, _demanded._ “We have to converse about this case”

Celestia nodded, locking the door behind her. Kyoko’s face remained neutral, already beginning to walk ahead. The gambler frowned, picking up her pace to be side by side with the detective.

“What does this case require speaking of?”

“I’ll start with this: I am still cautious of you. You may be clear of the culprit, but you may still be a helper,” Kyoko spoke. “Moving on, I just need you to—”

“Heeeyyyyy!”

Both girls stopped dead in their tracks, neither one daring to turn around. It must have been their lucky day though because the girl yelling for their attention had caught up to them.

“What do you need, Azumi?” Kyoko said, annoyance tipping her question.

Azumi giggled. “I needed sooooomeone to walk to class with, you know! I saw you two and started wondering who else I would rather walk with,” she took out her earbuds and placed them into her pocket, along with her phone. “I concluded that I wouldn’t want to travel aaaaaalllll the way upstairs with anyone but the Ultimate Gambler and Ultimate… Secret Keeper themselves!”

“Ultimate Secret Keeper?” Celestia repeated in confusion.

“Well she wouldn’t tell me her Ultimate Talent when I spoke with her, and I needed _something_ to go with a gambler! What best goes with gambling than lies and secrets?”

Celestia stiffened. Kyoko must have taken notice right away, eyes darting to the tense goth and back to the drummer.

“Azumi, could we possibly be alone for our walk to class? We have our project to discuss,” she said, neutral stare now aimed at the green-haired girl.

“Aw, talk about party poopers, man!” Azumi pouted. “Fine, I understand, girls who listen to girl in red gotta get their alone time too.” She bounded ahead of the two, waving behind her. “See ya in class, lovebirds!”

The gambler let out of breath she didn’t know she was holding; thankful the bubbly girl ran off ahead. She also chose to ignore her girl in red comment.

“Was that a trigger for you?”

“Hm?”

“Azumi saying how gamblers relate to deceit,” Kyoko specified. “You stiffened up once she mentioned secrets and lies.”

“Slightly, but it is nothing I cannot handle,” Celestia replied, speeding up her walking to get this conversation over with.

Kyoko stared a little too long for Celestia’s liking, but she looked away upon sensing her discomfort. Her eyes shifted to the ground then to her notepad in hand. They continued up the stairway in silence; a comforting silence on Kyoko’s end but awkward on Celestia’s.

Her heart was beating fast, and sadly, she had an idea of what caused it. She wished it wasn’t true, yet here she was, heart rate increasing because her crush was thinking of her wellbeing.

No, no, no. Not a crush. Never would be a crush.

But they would make a _fine_ ass couple if she were interested in girls.

She smiled to herself, sneaking a glance to her right, aimed at Kyoko. She couldn’t find it in herself to look away, not even when the detective turned her head towards her. She just smiled and continued to admire the girl walking beside her.

“How long are you going to stare?” Kyoko asked, stopping gin her tracks. “We’re at the classroom now, if you ever want to detach your eyes from me.”

Celestia blinked, snapping out of her daydream. She nodded when Kyoko opened the door for her, pacing right to her seat and ignoring any looks of concern pointed at her flushed face. She got caught staring, that was embarrassing!

She sat at the desk, face still red with humiliation. She didn’t even want to speak when Mukuro spun in her chair for their morning chat.

“Hey vampire, your face isn’t as pale as it always is,” she teased. “What’s up with you?”

Celestia frowned. “Her,” she grumbled, eyes flickering over to Kyoko.

“Ah,” Mukuro nodded. “I see, you’re finally realizing your feelings, right?”

“I don’t have feelings towards her.”

“Oh? Then why pray tell, were you blushing as red as your heels when you entered the classroom right before she did?”

The goth smirked. “Tell me why you were blushing last week when helping Sayaka decorate and _maybe_ I’ll talk.”

The soldier opened her mouth but closed it before a rebuttal could escape it. She silently turned back around, deliberately ignoring Celestia’s statement. Celestia looked to her ride, facing forward but eyes scanning the detective.

Would having a crush on the same gender really be so bad for her?

“No, someone of my status does not stoop to relationships, a same sex one at that,” she muttered to herself, staring down her desk. “This would make Celestia look bad, don’t you fucking dare try, Taeko.”

Her head hurt from all this thinking.

“Though, maybe if we spend more time together, I’ll confirm or deny my emotions with more confidence,” she said quietly, looking back at Kyoko. She grinned to herself, plan already forming on how to talk more with the detective. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

* * *

Celestia raised her fist to knock on the door of Kyoko Kirigiri, déjà vu hitting her like a truck. She was confident in her plan to get Kyoko to be with her more, though it may involve a lot of lying. She’d understand when they get closer why the red-eyed girl lied to get them to hang out more.

Kyoko opened the door within a few seconds, confusion clouding her before neutral expression.

“Celestia,” she acknowledged. “Why are you here?”

The gambler smiled sweetly. “May I come in?”

“I… don’t see why not,” Kyoko said, stepping out of the doorway. “You may enter.”

Celestia stepped into the dorm, still slightly unnerved by the wall of student profiles and drawings to her side as she walked in. She watched as Kyoko sat in her desk chair, stacks, and stacks on stacks of paper surrounding her. For seeming like such a clean and organized person, her desk area was quite untidy. It honestly bothered Celestia.

“What brought you by?” Kyoko inquired, clicking a pencil in impatience.

“I have absolutely horrifying news, detective!” Celestia cried, hand on her head to emphasize her point. “It’s completely dreadful!”

“And this news is…?”

Celestia swallowed. There was no going back now. She took a breath and prepared herself for the next few statements.

“There has been another kidnapping, so unfortunate!”

Kyoko brought her head up from the paper she was writing within a millisecond, eyes wide with surprise. This was the most emotion Celestia had ever seen on her face. Seeing that made her want to elicit more positive feelings from her.

“Who now?” She asked, obviously shaken up by the news.

“It’s…” Celestia closed her eyes. Now there was _really_ no going back.

“Maki Harukawa of the 79th class!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lying is bad children, especially for attention.  
> also uh its my birthday soon (eactly five days after kyoko's) and im very happy mine is like right after hers lol.


	10. stress is not fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. AM. BACK!!!!!
> 
> woooooo it feels great to finally get this story progressing again!!!! anyways i hope this was worth the wait! :)

Kyoko grumbled and laid her head on her desk. “You’re joking,” she groaned, initial surprise wearing off.

Celestia frowned. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but her mind just kept telling her to go for it. Other than their project, which she was sure Kyoko had already finished up on her own, she had no other way of interacting with her. Of course, she could always start up a conversation or ask the other to hang out, but who’s doing that with social anxiety?

“I’m afraid I am not,” Celestia responded. “I wish I was, though.”

“Fuck.”

The gambler’s eyes widened. She didn’t expect that large of a reaction from Kyoko. All she predicted was slight surprise and her continuing to move on with the case.

“I swear I’m going to fucking go crazy,” Kyoko chuckled to herself and Celestia was starting to wonder if lying at that time really was a good option. “Another kidnapping— This can’t be happening.”

“Um, Kyoko?”

“This is number _five,_ ” she hissed out the number, bringing her head up from her desk, resting it in her hands which gripped her hair. “Five abductions within two months now. Two months and I haven’t gotten anywhere!”

Celestia felt her stomach drop. She didn’t know how stressed Kyoko really was with all this, and the supposed fifth victim must have really tipped her over the edge.

“Darling, I’m sure you’ll find the person who—”

“But what if I _can’t_?” Kyoko looked up and Celestia saw tears welling up in her eyes.

If it was even possible, she felt more guilty than before. She knew the detective well enough to know that she never shows emotions such as stress or sadness, hence why she didn’t know how overworked she was, so seeing her in such a state broke her heart even more. She wanted to help, but she couldn’t exactly say that it was all a fabrication right after her exclamation.

“I’ve solved every case I’ve come across up to this point, and this has proven to be the most difficult I have ever seen,” Kyoko continued. “When there is a kidnapping, within the first 36 hours is when you have the most hope of finding the victim. After that, you can most likely say goodbye to whoever it was that was taken.”

“Kyoko, you’re—”

“They could be dead,” the girl interrupted, taking a breath. She wiped her eyes, slightly embarrassed that her stress had led to tears in front of the gambler. “They could have been killed the minute they were taken, and I can’t do anything about it.”

Celestia put a hand on Kyoko’s shoulder, causing her to stiffen up. “I think you’re being far too negative here,” she reasoned, still unable to believe how much Kyoko had cracked under the pressure of this case. “There is still a chance we can find their kidnapper, yes?”

“I don’t know,” Kyoko answered. “I don’t fucking know. I’ve never had this problem before.”

The goth fell silent. She had thought of multiple ways this conversation could go, but none of them involved this reaction from Kyoko. She felt bad, but she shook her head. This was all necessary in the end, for her to find out her true feelings; so why did she want to tell the truth already?

Celestia looked down a Kyoko in her desk chair, who laid her head back down again with a defeated sigh. From what she could see of the one side of her face, Kyoko saw the bags under her eyes. She saw drowsiness that was apparent in her expression. The girl was _exhausted,_ and this news obviously made everything worse for her. Her behavior lately was all starting to come together.

Originally, Celestia just brushed off whatever sleepiness or attitude Kyoko expressed— such as her using her real name— as her time of the month. Now after witnessing the reaction she caused, it dawned on her that these were symptoms of severe stress. There had been signs already, such as Kyoko being tired the day she apologized to her, and when they spent the night at her dorm she said she barely slept.

“Have you been sleeping well?” Celestia asked out of the blue.

“Really?” Kyoko brought her head up. “Is now _really_ the best time to ask me that?”

“Just answer.”

The detective grumbled under her breath. “I’ve been working on this nonstop, do you think I have time to sleep?”

Celestia shook her head. “That’s not—”

“Before you say anything, I know it’s not healthy,” Kyoko interrupted. “At this moment in time, finding the perpetrator is the most important thing on my mind.”

“That shouldn’t be your priority.”

“There are people dying, Celeste,” the girl rested her hand on her head. “I can’t sleep knowing that the victims have died because I’m too slow with this case.”

“You have no proof that they are dead yet,” the gambler countered. She was starting to get frustrated with how negative Kyoko was being. Was this how she sounding during her episodes? If so, then damn, she was annoying. “You have not found any bodies, and no one had said that they have died. They are just simply missing, you must have hope that they are still alive as a detective, am I wrong?”

Kyoko turned and looked at the wall rather than Celestia, taking in what the other said. She stayed silent for a while; eyes locked on the wallpaper in front of her. Celestia slowly began to think she had upset her even more somehow.

“No, you’re not wrong,” Kyoko breathed out. She turned back to face Celestia, eyes still puffy, and the dark spots under them more apparent. “I don’t know why I am allowing emotions into my deductions and investigations. I apologize for my actions.”

“You sound like a robot,” Celestia commented. She finally took a seat on the bed next to Kyoko. “You make it sound like you are prohibited from expressing anything.”

“I _shouldn’t_ express what I’m feeling,” the detective answered quietly. “That shows weakness. To keep my job as a detective and to be viewed as trustworthy and reliable in the workplace, I must always remain neutral on the exterior.”

The gambler frowned. “That itself isn’t healthy either, you know,” she remarked, absentmindedly combing Kyoko’s somewhat knotted hair with her fingers.

“There isn’t anything I can really do about it,” Kyoko leaned into the touch with a yawn. “I have to remain professional at all times.”

“You’re allowed to have emotions,” Celestia said as she continued brushing her fingers through the lavender hair. It was soft, although still not completely free of knots.

Kyoko didn’t respond, instead leaning back more onto Celestia’s hand. The goth smiled at this, in a trance full of the other. She didn’t intend to; it just sort of happened. The act of playing with her hair was a subconscious one, but the reaction was one she was pleased with. It seemed to soothe the stressed detective slightly— and slightly was better than nothing.

After a few moments, the purple-eyed girl shot her head up, now fully aware of what she had been doing. Celestia drew back her hand in a flash on instinct, eyes locked on Kyoko’s.

“I apologize,” Celestia mumbled, sensing Kyoko’s growing discomfort.

The older girl just shrugged it off, but internally screamed at herself. First, she broke down in front of the goth— still not fully recovered from that act— and now she was calming down at her touch? None of these feelings were familiar to her, and she wanted to mentally throw them across the ocean. This had never happened with anyone else, so why did she feel the urge to let her guard down around Celestia?

She wanted to be physically close with Celestia again, but why? The hand slowly brushing through her hair was oddly calming, but the serenity vanished when she mentally panicked over why she even felt this way. She wanted to get her to continue, but her words refused to cooperate with her at that moment.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Celestia took it upon herself to stand back up. Her mind was set on leaving, mainly to let Kyoko have time alone after the past events, but she was cut short by a tug on her sleeve. She glanced down at Kyoko, who had a small but firm grip on her black sleeve, eyes not connecting with the Celestia’s. If it were anyone else, Celestia would have scolded them for touching her, but she felt the need to keep herself calm for Kyoko’s sake.

“Is there a problem?” She asked softly, still unable to see Kyoko’s face.

“No, I just…”

Kyoko mentally groaned at how stupid she sounded. She knew the stress she had been undergoing was messing with her emotions and actions, so she stood up, ignoring Celestia’s perplexed gaze as she wrapped her arms around her. Celestia made no movement, still confused as to what was happening and why the ice-cold, quiet detective was embracing her. She returned the favor, albeit hesitantly, and smiled to herself.

When Celestia brought one of her hands back to Kyoko’s hair, the detective felt herself melt into the hug she initiated. For once in her life, she felt safe. Even with a kidnapper, or multiple, on the loose, she felt safe in Celestia’s arms. How could this gambler, someone who’s talent quite literally revolves around an illegal hobby, make her feel this way?

Was she somehow acquiring feelings?

How would that even be possible if she was never shown what love could be?

Celestia pulled away slowly, the smile still on her face. Kyoko smiled back, placing a gloved hand on the gambler’s cheek. Celestia leaned into the touch, quietly sighing in content. Her mind felt numb, only eased by thoughts of the one standing in front of her.

Kyoko took another breath, admiring the other’s beauty. Had she always looked this breathtaking?

Her thoughts were cut short by feeling lips upon her own. Her eyes widened in a heartbeat, her mind slowly taking in the situation.

Celestia was _kissing_ her.

And she really wasn’t against it.

She pressed her lips back, internally chuckling when she felt Celestia smile against her. Celestia rested her free hand on Kyoko’s hip, and Kyoko put hers on Celestia’s other cheek. For the first time in weeks, she felt relaxed.

Celestia pulled back, face as red as her tie. She acted on pure instinct but was relieved that it was received well. She had succeeded in calming down the detective, yet she revealed feelings she was unsure of herself. Her short-lived pride was quickly replaced by fear. Her heart could be playing tricks on her, but she acted too quickly. Everything that happened that day was to put her plan in motion, to see if she actually felt any attraction towards Kyoko.

_Goddamn it, Taeko._

“I… should go,” she mumbled, turning to leave for the second time that day. However, Kyoko once again stopped her.

“Wait,” Kyoko spoke hurriedly. Celestia spun back around to be met with a blushing Kyoko. She couldn’t help but notice how adorable she looked like that. “Uh, thank you for the information you gave me,” she finally continued.

Ah, right, her lie. Celestia let out a breath and dropped her shoulders. She had a plan to make sure she wasn’t found out for her lie, yet she was still nervous. This was the Ultimate Detective she was lying to; it was only natural to be cautious about lying to one.

“It is no issue,” she responded. “I hope to help you with your investigation soon.”

“Are you free tomorrow after classes? I wish to begin as soon as possible.”

“Of course,” Celestia bowed her head. “Your room?”

She nodded wordlessly.

“Right,” the goth smiled. “See you tomorrow in class, detective.”

Kyoko watched the other exit her room. When the door closed and she was alone once again, she smiled. Her hand moved on its own, leather-clad fingers brushing against her bottom lip. That was her first kiss.

Drawing her hand back, she caught a glimpse of a red smudge on her glove. She nodded to herself, definitely noticing the color similarity from the gambler’s lips. She chuckled lightly, starting to rub off the makeup.

She was supposed to be solving a crime, yet she somehow ended up realizing how she feels for someone who is so similar yet so different from her. Kyoko glanced at her wall of suspects and nodded again. She was going to solve this mystery; she was sure of it. For both herself and now Celestia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahah hope you all enjoyed the hurt/comfort and major fluff at the end! gotta get in the sappy shit before it all goes downhill heheh


	11. miss make out in the office

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the week long wait! this was originally supposed to be a filler, but i wanted s p i c e so take the s p i c e.

Honestly, the school day was just as boring as any other. It consisted of the usual events, such as Mukuro poking fun at Celestia’s social awkwardness in class and annoying assignments she’d rather drop out than complete if this school didn’t guarantee her success. The only thing that earned her attention was Kyoko, but she limited her glances to only a few throughout the day. Mukuro also teased her for that as well.

At the time the final bell rang, Celestia was ecstatic to be able to leave and spend time with Kyoko. Of course, their time together would be limited to problem solving, but she couldn’t help but look forward to it. Her little white lie barely mattered if it meant that the detective was going to allow her to help. She’d just have to dissuade the discussion from her and to the earlier victims instead.

She hadn’t really thought of how Maki would react when she returned from wherever she was— that is, if she even did in the first place. Celestia had considered the fact that Maki could join the abducted students during her escapade, but truthfully didn’t want to dwell on it. Though she was lying about it, she would absolutely hate it if that lie became a reality. She couldn’t afford having _another_ one of her close friends taken away by whatever monster was causing all this despair.

Waiting at the stairway Celestia didn’t even realize she had made it to was Kyoko, arms crossed, and a neutral expression up for display.

“I recently got new information,” she began once Celestia was in hearing range. “One of the supposed victims was never actually kidnapped.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. “Who was it?” she inquired. “And where could they have possibly gone in the middle of all this tragedy?”

“I was not informed of who, though it is heavily implied that she decided to go for a vacation after the first victim was taken.” Kyoko flipped a strand of hair over her shoulder as the pair descended the steps. “Who in their right mind would do that, you may ask? Honestly, I have no answer for you.”

The gambler forgot who the second victim was, let alone the first. She knew who was abducted, just not the exact order of their disappearances.

“Our meeting will have to be rescheduled,” the detective said. “I am needed for an immediate interrogation of the victim who is already at the firm. Unless you want to accompany me, I believe I have nothing for you to help me with.”

“If it is alright with you, I plan on attending.” She was mainly just invested and wanted to know who the idiot who decided to take a vacation at this time was, but she also wanted to keep the chance of hanging out with Kyoko.

Kyoko just nodded and they continued their walk along the hallways to the exit. Nothing was left to be said, but the silence itself was comfortable, especially considering Celestia’s issue of awkward social interactions. The firm wasn’t far away, and since she was already there once, she knew how long it took to get there.

* * *

They reached the building and the door flung open. The same boy from earlier— Shinichi, was it? Celestia didn’t really remember— opened the doors at the same time they approached the steps. He moved to the side, wordlessly nodding at Kyoko and watched the two enter. Kyoko knew exactly where the interrogation rooms were, so she took ahold of Celestia’s hand to lead her to their destination. Immediately, the goth felt her face heat up at the action. She shook her head, telling herself it doesn’t mean anything at the moment, and moved on.

“Oh? Is this a possible couple I see?”

Both girls, and Sushi— that couldn’t be his name— stopped in their tracks at the upbeat voice. A flash of multicolored hair zoomed past the group and in front of them, face painted with a huge grin.

“Ibuki?” Shuichi— she finally remembered his name— gasped. The musical artist was practically jumping with joy.

“Ibuki is baaaaaaack!”

Kyoko narrowed her eyes. “Get back in the investigation room, Ibuki.”

Ibuki mumbled some words of protest but followed the instructions, nonetheless. She got over her disappointment and practically jumped back into the room, shooting a wink at the others before sitting at the setup table for her.

“Shuichi, I can handle this,” Kyoko looked at the blue-haired boy. “I recommend that you work on some of the paperwork involving this while I interrogate.”

He shot a look at Celestia, who remained straight faced, down to their still intertwined hands, then back at Kyoko with a nod. The girl detective wasted no time leading Celestia into the room with Ibuki.

“If I am being frank, I am no surprised this was the troublesome one,” she commented, eyes lingering on the energetic girl.

“Troublesome? Aw, that’s not nice!”

Kyoko shook her head. “That doesn’t matter right now.” She pulled up a chair in front of the musician and let out a sigh. “Where have you been these past six weeks?”

“Exploring!” Ibuki explained.

“Exploring _where?_ ”

“Ibuki went to America!!”

Celestia placed her forehead in her hands. They would get nowhere with this behavior of hers.

“Okay,” Kyoko mumbled, writing words down on paper in front of her. “Why did you choose this time of year, especially with a kidnapper on the loose?”

“Kidnapper?” Ibuki questioned. “Ibuki had no idea that was happening! I just went to America because I was invited for a few openings for concerts there!”

The investigation dragged on longer than Celestia would have liked. Her intention upon joining the interrogation was for at least _some_ time on her own with Kyoko, but with how Ibuki was acting, she had no idea if that would even happen. She admired her energy, but she reminded her of Azumi, who she wasn’t too fond of at the moment.

She mindlessly stared off into space, eyes catching onto Kyoko. All she was reminded of was how soft her lips felt against hers, and how it just felt so right when she kissed her.

Did she regret it? Eh, she didn’t really know. Kyoko obviously didn’t get mad at her for it, and she even kissed back which was a huge plus. There was also the issue that the hadn’t spoken about it, and Celestia was in the dark whether or not they were officially a couple or anything. It was stressful, but she couldn’t even begin to relate to the amount of stress Kyoko was going through.

The questions Ibuki was receiving had played in a circle, since when Celestia began paying attention again, she heard an inquiry that in her opinion should’ve been asked in the beginning.

“And you decided to tell no one about this escapade of yours?”

“Oh, no no!” Ibuki waved her hands wildly to indicate Kyoko was wrong. “Ibuki definitely remembers telling someone. If you need an alibi, ask my bestie Peko-Peko!”

Celestia focused her attention fully on the interrogation now. Peko had known about this, and didn’t tell any of their friend group?

“Peko… Pekoyama, correct?” Kyoko clarified, unsure who the nickname was for despite it being somewhat obvious.

“Yep, that’s my Peko-Peko. Told her Ibuki wanted to take up the opening offers and said to keep it a secret if anyone asks!”

A secret, really? Celestia couldn’t come up with any reason that Peko would lie for Ibuki, especially when the kidnapper was running around at that time too.

Kyoko nodded, continuing to write more down. The room went dreadfully silent, but all Celestia could focus on was the rage inside her. If she apparently couldn’t trust Peko— sweet, quiet Peko— who’s to say she could trust any of her other friends? What if Kyoko was right about her initial accusation against Mukuro this whole time?

“I’ll be sure to question her later,” Kyoko spoke as she stood up, retrieving the notepad on the table. “You are free to leave.”

“Hell yeah!” Ibuki leaped out of her seat, giggling like a maniac. “Bye byes!!”

Celestia scoffed as the girl ran past her and out of the room. She felt eyes on her but refused to acknowledge them.

“I assume you feel as if you cannot trust your friends now?”

The goth took a breath, dropping her shoulders that she didn’t even know were tensed. “Very perceptive, I see.”

“Your red face makes it obvious,” Kyoko deadpanned. She cleared her throat, coming closer to Celestia. “I don’t blame you; I understand how you feel.”

“You do?’

“I do, but that isn’t relevant right now.” Celestia felt a hand under her chin lifting her head up to meet with the owner’s eyes. “It’s natural to feel anger, but please note that Ibuki may be lying. It is not worth being upset without more evidence.”

Celestia nodded.

“Furthermore,” Kyoko seemed to be leaning closer with each word. “We haven’t discussed our current relationship yet, have we?”

This dominant Kyoko was certainly a surprise for Celestia, but she didn’t mind. As much as she loved control, the sudden change in pace every once in a while, was always welcomed.

“You are correct, we have not,” she answered, finding herself just centimeters away from Kyoko’s lips. She felt a hand on her hip, most definitely enjoying this side of Kyoko, despite not knowing where it originated from. The other hand was placed on the wall by Celestia’s head.

The space between them was broken as Kyoko finally made the first move, planting her lips on Celestia’s. Though the kiss itself was welcomed, they couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t driven by the same adoration as the night before. This one was driven by thirst for whatever reason, and this theory was only confirmed when a swipe of Celestia’s bottom lip came from Kyoko’s tongue.

Celestia opened her mouth into the kiss, allowing their tongues to dance against each other. The goth felt absolute euphoria just at the action itself, and she couldn’t help but moan into the kiss when she felt the hand on her hip tighten. Kyoko separated from her mouth, and they both took a breath before the detective lowered and began planting kisses along the other’s neck, occasionally biting at the skin.

“Alright, Kyoko, I finished the—”

The gambler gasped and Kyoko instantly pulled back, eyes wide with fear. Celestia rolled her eyes at the fact that they were interrupted— she was wishing to see how far Kyoko would actually take it.

“Do _not_ tell my grandfather about this,” Kyoko borderline growled, afraid of the thought that he would find out about her relationship with a possible criminal.

Shuichi nodded awkwardly, dropping papers on the desk where the interrogation was held. He left the room in record time, exclaiming an apology in the process.

Kyoko sighed, pulling away entirely from the position she was in. “I apologize for that; I should’ve locked the door.”

“It is not your fault,” Celestia replied, fixing the collar of her outfit to hide the already forming hickey. “Though I am quite disappointed, if I am being honest.”

“I am as well.” Kyoko looked through the paperwork Shuichi left. “Is it safe to assume we are in a romantic relationship now?”

“You tell me, Miss Make Out in The Office,” the goth snickered.

Kyoko blushed. “You should’ve said no if you didn’t want me to—”

“It isn’t a matter if I wanted it or not. Rest assured it was appreciated. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t have a head at this time,” Celestia smiled despite the gruesome comment she had just made. “It’s just fun to tease you about it.”

The detective nodded. “Okay, well,” her gaze flickered back to Celestia. “We’re done here, and I would prefer to think about what Ibuki said on my own if that is alright.”

“Not an issue at all, darling.”

The nickname hit different now that they were officially together. Kyoko smiled. “I’ll escort you out,” she offered, extending her gloved hand out to Celestia. The other took it, and they exited the interrogation room, ignoring the awkwardness in the air due to Shuichi being in the hallway.

Upon reaching the outside, Kyoko brought their connected hands and placed a kiss on the back of Celestia’s hand. They wordlessly separated, and a wave from Kyoko got Celestia to smile wider. She waved back before turning around and heading back to campus, mainly to go back to her dorm and have a gay panic. A good one, at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shuichi is the real victim in this fic by now
> 
> also i cant guarantee when i will update again. i try to update every 3-5 days, but i literally stayed up until 1:30 to write and post this, and i technically wake up in 6 hours for class. school is stressing me the fuck out, i have a whole essay due in two days i haven't even began writing (yet i sit here writing two anime girls make out bc why tf not) and ive had no days off since beginning. im not even in fucking high school (applications for hs are terrifying bc idek what i want to do bc no one around me offers visual arts) i dont need pity, im just explaining that if my upload schedule gets wackier, youll know why.
> 
> (instant repost bc ao3 failed me lmao)


	12. arguing to defend a girlf- i mean friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, sorry for the week long wait. the first term at school is ending so i was busy with that, and now i have another issue on my hands.
> 
> pretty much, i’m passionate about bowling. bowling alleys opened back up after six months and leagues started back up, so of course i was excited. someone in my league decided ‘let’s still go to the bowling alley knowing damn well i have covid symptoms’ (he got tested later that day and it came back positive) and he did just that. last saturday, (it’s monday morning as of writing this) i bowled against his sister, who he also drove to the place.
> 
> so uh i’m getting tested in like an hour and i won’t lie i’m kinda nervous. my mood has been switching from pure anger to paranoia. but i just- who the fuck goes somewhere with covid symptoms?? are they that big of an asshole or something? my plans have been ruined thanks to this bitch who can’t keep inside his house, and honestly i’m fucking pissed.
> 
> anyways, sorry for that, onto the story :)

Celestia sat at the table, tracing the fancy outlines of the designs on it. She was the only one at their signature table at this point, awaiting the arrival of the only other available member of her friend group. She had to show up; from what Celestia knew of Maki had only told her about her departure. She knew very well that Kyoko had planned on questioning her, but this was one of the people she knew best. If anyone were to interrogate her first, it would be Celestia.

Sure enough, the bell above the door rang it's all too familiar chime, and in came the silver-haired girl. The swordswoman met Celestia’s gave and each pair of red eyes stared for moments too long. She took it upon herself to sit across from the gambler, obviously with no intention of starting up a conversation. Instead, she started messing with the tip of her braid and broke eye contact.

Celestia cleared her throat. “I think I’ll just get straight to the point here,” she began. “I’m sure you know the best out of all of us in the group, though I’m the only other here, that Ibuki is back?”

“Yes, I do, she’s in my class,” Peko answered with a straight face.

“Such a bizarre occurrence, isn’t it?” Celestia smiled, but she knew the action was fake. Judging by Peko’s small smile in return, she assumed the other didn’t catch on.

“I’m just extremely grateful that she was not a victim of abduction as she was said to be.”

“I as well.” Celestia took a breath. “Do you happen to know where she went off to?”

Peko’s smile dropped and her face returned to one of seriousness. “If I recall correctly, she went to America to perform for popular musical artists there. She was invited to open for multiple people in a span of a couple of months.”

Celestia furrowed her brows. That information hasn’t been released to the public yet— meaning Peko had essentially dug her own grave.

“Ah, I don’t remember that being in the news article…”

The swordswoman noticeably stiffened. Her face shifted a shade paler as her eyes concentrated on the table in front of her.

“No rebuttal? Quite the disappointment, I must say,” Celestia scoffed.

Peko sighed. “Is it safe to assume you know of my role in this?” she muttered.

“Extremely safe,” Celestia felt anger start to boil up inside her. “Do you understand what your silence caused?”

“I understand that I may have led to others worrying about her,” Peko admitted. “However, Ibuki strictly requested for me to keep her trip a secret. I was not informed of why, but I didn’t want to break a promise to someone who’s helped me r—”

“I know you wanted to keep it a secret, I don’t need your sob story,” Celestia growled. “But while you were sitting on valuable information, my girl—” She stopped herself to avoid revealing her relationship, took a breath, and continued, “my _friend_ was trying to find a kidnapper! And you had information you kept to yourself, yes?”

A somewhat nervous nod came from Peko.

“And you have nothing to say for yourself? Nothing to say about the stress you’ve helped cause detectives and everyone else working on these cases?”

Peko frowned but was unable to come up with any words to respond with. Instead, she tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes, past anxiety seemingly disappearing.

“May I ask why you know so much about these series of events?”

Celestia glared at her. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” the silver-haired girl seemed to have gained some confidence. “You speak as if you know every little detail about these kidnappings. Is that true?”

“I— no!” the gambler felt herself getting even more frustrated with this girl. “Peko, I swear I will drag you out of this coffee shop by your disgusting braids. Stop shifting the blame off yourself, I don’t even owe you an explanation.”

The swordswoman glared back. “Then neither do I,” she said with a smug grin, standing from her seat.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Celestia inquired.

“Away from you,” was her response before turning away from the black-haired girl.

“Hmph, go run off to Fuyuhiko or something,” she grumbled loudly enough for the other to hear.

She was about to exit the café until a certain lavender-haired detective walked into the shop. Celestia saw Kyoko say something to Peko, who nodded and seemed unfazed by their recent argument.

Kyoko exchanged some small scrap of paper with Peko before noticing Celestia. Her neutral expression shifted into one delightfulness, a smile now on her once blank face. She walked over and took the seat Peko was sitting in at first.

“Don’t tell me you tried questioning her,” Kyoko started off with.

Celestia placed a hand on her chest, feigning offense. “I would never without you around!”

“Then why pray tell, was she complaining that you yelled at her over this?”

“I have no idea in the slightest.”

The detective let out a soft chuckled. “Sure, you don’t,” she replied, placing her laptop on the table. “Did you at least get anything out of her through your most likely flawed methods?”

“Flawed?” Celestia gasped. “That is quite rude of you, Kyoko.”

“It’s only rude if you take it offensively,” she flipped a strand of hair over her shoulder. “I’m assuming you didn’t get anything?”

The gambler sighed. “She was being so stubborn! I’m going to burn her alive!”

“Let’s not give me yet another case to work on, Celeste.”

A waitress came over and asked for their order, to which Celestia replied with royal milk tea and Kyoko just requested black coffee.

“Straight up black? How edgy can you be?”

“It’s not edgy, I like it that way.

Silence washed over the two, save for the light key tapping noises coming from Kyoko’s laptop.

“I’m going to set up an interrogation time with her tomorrow,” she started. “Though you may need to sit this one out.”

“Hm? How so?”

“I doubt that she would willingly speak with you in the room after the apparent events of today,” her eyes focused out the window beside her. “It is with all my respect that I cannot allow you to be there as well.”

Celestia took a second then nodded. “That sounds logical, I can respect it.”

The other nodded back and mumbled out a noise of appreciation.

The gambler rested her head in her hand. She still had trouble believing that Peko was somewhat of an accomplice to all of this. What if she was working with the kidnapper? Or maybe worse, what if she _is_ the kidnapper? So many questions circled around her brain which tried to focus on Kyoko in front of her.

“Shuichi is going to be at my dorm tonight since we plan on going over these cases again, excluding Ibuki’s,” Kyoko said. “If you want to, you can join us.”

“I’d be delighted to,” Celestia responded. “I’m sure my intellect could help you once I finally know the whole series of events in order.”

Kyoko continued typing and Celestia let out a sigh, before remembering something she wanted to ask her.

“Have you been sleeping well these past few nights?”

The detective shrugged. “I can’t exactly sleep soundly with issues like these happening,” she answered and Celestia frowned. “Although, my habits have been slowly becoming healthier.”

“That’s certainly good news,” Celestia’s frowned morphed into a smile. “It definitely shows.”

Kyoko giggled, cheeks flushing redder. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

* * *

They had both finished their respective drinks in relative silence. The only conversations that were happening had consisted of slight small talk and the occasional flirt here and there. Celestia had found that her morning was easily turned around by the presence of Kyoko; especially that rare smile she always seemed to earn.

Celestia placed a kiss on the other’s cheek before the separated for the day, Celestia going to sleep in her dorm and Kyoko going back to the detective’s firm for a bit. Their plans to see each other again still held, yet Shuichi was going to be a problem. The gambler totally wasn’t planning any ways to get rid of him throughout the night…

Not at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize for the short chapter, its setting stuff up slowly but surely.
> 
> who the hell goes out knowing they have covid symptoms.... what a fucking dumbass.


	13. reviewing past events

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> COVID TEST CAME BACK NEGATIVE LETS GOOOO
> 
> also see uh my math teacher asked what our favorite shows were at the moment and all that, so me being me, i say danganronpa in the chat of zoom bc im not fucking talking lmao thats funny. he acknowledged me, saying something like he wont even begin to try to pronounce it, and as a joke i say i recommend it. yk, for funsies and since hes a jokey and fun teacher.
> 
> he asked me where he could watch it. and i gave him an answer. later on he asked how to pronounce it and said he'd start watching it over the weekend.
> 
> my reputation as a good student is going to plummet, allow me to go ascend real quick🤩

“Are we ready to go over the case again?”

Celestia and Shuichi nodded, the former twisting a strand of hair between her fingers. This ‘meeting’ had just started, and she was already bored. She knew the whole point of this wasn’t for her entertainment, but at least someone else was here for fun.

The blue-haired detective apparently brought a friend as well, one that piqued her interest. So far at Kyoko’s dorm, which they have only been at for a few minutes, he’s managed to annoy Kyoko. Of course, the detective didn’t show it, but Celestia had been learning more about how she speaks and her body language. When she was annoyed or mad, her tone got slightly harsher and she seemed to rush her sentences more. Again, this wouldn’t be noticed by someone like the new boy— Kokichi, also the one who was previously ranted about by both Maki and sometimes Tsumugi— or Shuichi.

“Alright,” Kyoko stood from her spot on the floor, moving over to her wall of victims and suspects. “As we should know, the first victim of this series of events is Tenko Chabashira of your class,” she pointed at Shuichi and Kokichi.

“Yes, she was last seen going to her dorm by Himiko Yumeno,” Shuichi nodded. “After that, no one had heard from her. Most of her belongings are missing, such as her phone and some clothing as well.”

“Mmm, going through her closet, yeah?” Kokichi smirked. “Dirty boy, Shumai!”

“Ah? N-no, that’s not—”

Kyoko cleared her throat, cutting Shuichi off and glaring daggers at Kokichi.

“Moving on,” she prompted. “Next, we thought was Ibuki Mioda, however that turned out to be false, as she was in America. This was confirmed by Peko Pekoyama’s testimony earlier this week, so we can leave her out of all discussions after this.”

Celestia scoffed at the mention of Peko. Kyoko’s glare moving from Kokichi to Celestia easily shut her up.

“After her, was Aoi Asahina,” Shuichi continued for Kyoko, standing up as well, leaving Kokichi on the floor with Celestia. “She was last seen going to her dorm by Sakura Ogami the night before she was reported missing.”

A tug on Celestia’s sleeve was felt and she turned her head to see the smaller boy playing with the frills of her blazer. She pulled her hand back, smacking him away from her. Kokichi retracted his hand with an overexaggerated frown that went unnoticed by the detectives in the room.

“Who’s next?” Kokichi exclaimed, obviously not genuine at all due to his instant switch in emotions.

“Kichi, you know this,” Shuichi shook his head. “Tsumugi Shirogane. Maki Harukawa saw her going into her room and she disappeared right afterward.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” The purple-haired boy raised his voice. “Objection! I have an idea!”

Shuichi glanced over at him, waiting for him to continue. Kyoko paid no attention; the look on her face showing that she regretted allowing him to join them.

“What if the last people who saw them are all working together? Like their own secret organization or something?” That’s possible, right?”

“The chances are slim,” Kyoko replied before Shuichi had the opportunity to entertain the other’s idea, which the look on his face showed he was interested in Kokichi's idea. “Especially regarding the fact that Maki is our latest victim.”

Celestia stiffened. This little lie of hers really was affecting their entire investigation sequence. Kokichi glanced over, now noticing her tensed state. He smirked, plans already arising in his head.

“So far, no one else has been taken, but that could change at any moment,” Kyoko spoke, not realizing the gambler’s change in posture like Kokichi had. “It’s safe if we all stay in pairs, but that’s an issue to get out if people are told to stay quiet about these abductions. So, for now, just us four can pair up.”

The other two nodded confidently; Celestia’s was much curter and less drawn out. She blinked, trying to keep away whatever emotions were building up inside of her.

“What if I said I know who the culprit is?”

All eyes then fell on Kokichi, who proudly puffed out his chest. Shuichi looked the most confused out of all of them, and Kyoko seemed the most interested.

“Just kidding, that was just a lie!”

Kyoko clenched her fists, looking right at Shuichi. “Get him out of here,” she demanded, much more emotion showing than she ever really had before. Shuichi hesitated before nodding, lightly gripping Kokichi’s sleeve to encourage him to leave. The boy in white remained stuck to the ground for a few more seconds, and his face dropped from one of mischief to seriousness.

“You know, I’m not the only liar here. It’s your job to figure out who it is.”

With that, he stood and followed a very perplexed Shuichi to the door. Kyoko, who couldn’t care less for what the boy had to say, turned her attention to Celestia.

“Do you have any reasonable ideas?” she asked, and Celestia shook her head. “That’s unfortunate,” she sighed. “I thought this meeting would be more productive than it turned out to be.”

“I mean,” Celestia stood, moving closer to the detective. “We _could_ make it productive, just you and me…”

Kyoko rolled her eyes. “You honestly suck at flirting.”

The goth frowned. “That’s upsetting.”

The detective smirked. “Hey, I never said no to your proposition, though,” she added, placing a hand on the other’s cheek. “I’m very much up for it.”

“Oh really?” Celestia giggled, leaning in closer. “That’s most definitely good news to hear.”

Kyoko was about to close the short distance between them, but a knock on the door cut her off.

“Fuck,” she grumbled, reluctantly backing away from Celestia. “Just one time uninterrupted is all I ask for.” She went up to the door and opened with an obvious annoyance to her actions.

“Hey, Kyokoooo!”

“What do you want Azumi?”

Celestia scowled towards the door, seeing a glimpse of lime green hair behind Kyoko’s body. It’s like this girl was always getting in their way somehow or another.

“See, I went to Celestia’s room because I kind of need to talk to her, but she wasn’t there So, I just assumed she was here since you two are so close and all,” Azumi smiled innocently. “Were my instincts correct?”

“No, they were no—”

“They were,” Celestia interrupted. “Is this conversation of major importance?”

Azumi chuckle nervously under Kyoko’s glare. “Yeah, kind of…”

Celestia took a deep breath before walking herself to the door, smiling at Azumi to give the impression that she cared. Kyoko looked back at her before nodding and moving so Celestia could exit.

“See you tomorrow?” she questioned the black-haired girl.

“Of course,” Celestia confirmed, turning back to Azumi. “Shall we walk, then?”

Azumi nodded enthusiastically. Kyoko closed the door, and they began their walk.

“Look,” Azumi deadpanned, dropping whatever energetic attitude she initially had. “I’m just going to get right to the point; I can tell you’re annoyed with me and you probably don’t like me, and I’m genuinely sorry you feel that way. It’s not my first time making someone feel that way about me, so I’m not surprised.”

Celestia tilted her head, certainly not expecting this out of the drummer.

“Disregarding that, I still try to help you. Notice how I helped get you and Kyoko to make up a while back?”

The gambler nodded, remembering the incident of Kyoko calling her by the wretched name and not communicating for almost a week, only getting back on speaking terms after Azumi retrieved her from the coffee shop.

“You may view me as bubbly all the time and all that stuff, but as you can see now, I’m not. I—”

“Why am I being told this?” Celestia cut in.

“Please, be patient. We’ll get to that soon,” Azumi took a breath. “As already stated, I’m sure you dislike me. Before you ask why I know, I can just read people easily. It's another talent of mine, I guess. Picked it up in my band days.”

Celestia mentally rolled her eyes. She couldn’t care less about this girl’s backstory, and she apparently couldn’t be taking longer to get to the actual point. Yes, this genuine side of Azumi was a surprise and nice to see, but she wanted to go to her dorm and sleep. Why can’t she just get some sleep?

“I see you’re getting disinterested, allow me to speed up my explanation,” the drummer dragged her feet across the ground as they walked. “All I really wanted to get across was that even if you hate me, I’m here for you. I know something’s bothering you, and I have a feeling I know what it is.”

The girl smiled and looked over at Celestia, her goofy grin growing when the other looked back. “I’ll be your personal therapist!” Her energy had returned apparently, and she was smiling like an idiot at the red-eyed girl.

“Noted,” Celestia responded. Though she was grateful for the transparent side of this ball of energy, she still wanted to sleep. She could think over everything later on after she gets some rest.

“Oh, we’re at your dorm!”

“Perfect,” Celestia muttered under her breath. She raised her voice for the blue-eyed girl to hear her. “I will surely keep your words in mind. You may be right, you aren’t the type I enjoy being around, but I do appreciate your honesty.”

Azumi grinned. “Aww, is the cold and dead inside Celestia Ludenberg actually warming up to someone other than Kyoko?”

“Shut it.”

A chuckle came from the other. “Don’t worry, I can keep you two a secret. And before you say anything about ‘we’re not dating’ and blow up at me, consider this…” she stopped for dramatic effect, “it takes one to know one.”

And with that, off the drummer went. Celestia opened the door to her room, silently grateful she could finally be on her own. Though internally, she was worried as hell regarding Kokichi’s earlier words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> of course i gotta make kokichi be a lil shit again, when isnt he
> 
> also i find it funny how i got comments on azumi last chapter while i was literally in the process of writing the azumi and celestia scene. plus i gotta clear the air between those two, my drummer baby isnt stupid; she knew celestia hated her and ofc being the amazing person she is, she had to fix it.
> 
> maybe i'm just too proud of her lmaooo
> 
> (reupload bc some paragraphs decided to get cut out)


	14. being exposed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was an absolute BITCH to write. like i knew what was going to happen, but head empty no thoughts and words did not come to mind. so im sorry for the lateness <3

“Celestiaaa!!”

Said girl groaned and facepalmed. She knew that exact voice and dreaded to open the door to see who it was. She sighed, abandoning her sewing machine— she was trying to make a new dress, but all this drama lately had been preventing her from being efficient— and placed her hand on the door, unlocking it in one swift motion.

In less than a second, the door flung open towards her, and she instinctively jumped backward.

“Bestie!!”

Arms wrapped around her, and she looked down at the little purple gremlin hugging her waist.

“I barely even know you, Kokichi,” Celestia rolled her eyes, pushing him away from her. “What could you possibly want from me?"

“I wanna hang out with you!”

Celestia narrowed her eyes. “That’s a lie, isn’t it?”

“Aww, no fair!” Kokichi pouted, crossing his arms. “Shumai doesn’t see through my lies, how can you?”

“I’m a gambler, it comes naturally to me,” was her answer.

Kokichi shrugged. “Hm, maybe I’m a gambler then since I can see through you too!”

The goth shot him a look and he grinned. His face seemed way too smug to be sincere, which honestly worried her. She already knew he must know something, due to his behavior at the end of their discussion meeting the day prior. However, his sporadic attitude change and compulsive lying perplexed even her at times, and she had only known him for a day or two.

“Then what exactly am I hiding?” Celestia smiled, hands under her chin.

“ _You_ know something about Maki’s disappearance, don’t you?”

Celestia sucked in a breath. This is exactly what she was worried about him knowing. Of course, he did say there was a liar among them yesterday that didn’t include him, so he had to be referring to her.

“I do not,” she lied. “I haven’t the slightest idea where you got that idea from.”

Kokichi giggled. “Wellll, you did sorta tense up when she was mentioned to be abducted yesterday, but not with Tsumugi, even though you’re all friends. But I could also tooootally be looking too far into it.”

“Your assumption is correct; you are not a detective and you are wrong, so stay out of it.”

“Eh? So mean!” the boy whined. “You aren’t a detective either, dummy!”

“I realize that.”

This conversation was starting to annoy her. He was pressing too far into her personal business and he needed to back up before she’s had it.

Both of the liars heard a light pinging sound from Celestia’s phone, and they both looked over. Celestia, who was wary of what could have been sent to her, made sure her phone was out of his line of vision before reading the message illuminating the screen.

_gungopewpew: im back at my dorm safely. going to go talk to shuichi if you want to join me._

Celestia tensed. That was both not what she wanted to hear and great to hear at the same time. Kokichi must have noticed this because his damn sly smirk only grew at the sight.

“Mind telling me what’s on your phone there?” he asked, keeping an innocent act up.

“Preferably, this information stays with me only.”

“Oh really?” Kokichi moved at what seemed like the speed of light, snatching up the device from her grip. Celestia gasped, reaching for her phone but failed miserably.

“Kokichi,” she growled at the boy who someone made his way under her bed in record timing with her phone. “Get out from under there.”

“Never!” he declared. “These messages are soooo helpful!”

Celestia sighed. She was going to have her lies exposed by another liar and she couldn’t stand it. There was nothing she could do, either. She was too tall to actually fit under the bed— curse Kokichi’s tiny body— and had no way of getting her phone back if he was under there.

“So, you _did_ know Maki’s whereabouts!” Kokichi laughed, crawling back out. Celestia glared at him, but he only continued laughing instead of being intimidated. “Nee-heehee, I’ll have to tell Shuichi.”

“Wait,” Celestia stopped him in time to take her phone back, throwing it onto her bed with surprising accuracy. “Don’t tell him, I’m going to tell Kyoko in my own time.”

“Own time?” the boy questioned. “That’s funny, don’t you think maybe Maki going to Shuichi as she said in her messages may prevent that?”

The gambler nodded. “Yes, I know,” she mumbled. “So, if you don’t mind, get out of my room, and leave me to think of how to bring this up to Kyoko before Maki goes anywhere.”

“I would say good luck, but since you’re a gambler, luck is already on your side.” Kokichi opened the door with a sadistic grin as he glanced back for a split second. “Be sure to tell me all the details when you get dumped!”

Celestia sat in silence once the door closed again. She curled up into a ball on the ground, knees against her chest, and far in thought. If she explained this right, nothing would go wrong, right?

* * *

Laptop in hand, Kyoko strode down the halls of the dorms. She was looking for Shuichi- just for their daily meetup to check in with any information they may have. Kyoko herself didn’t have any but was hopeful that Shuichi may have something since no new evidence had been found in a while.

The halls were almost dead silent, save for the muttering of someone else that sounded like it was just around the corner. She paid it no mind though, searching for the correct dorm to enter.

Of course, when she found the correct door, someone was already waiting there. Kyoko narrowed her eyes, feeling like the girl knocking on Shuichi’s door looked familiar, but couldn’t put a name to her face. She could swear she knew the girl, but her mind must just be blanking out from her constant lack of sleep.

When the door opened and Shuichi revealed himself, he looked shocked, which only intrigued Kyoko further. Before she could make any decisions, Shuichi happened to look over in her direction, cocking his head to get her to walk over there. With a confused look, she complied, stopping, and sucking in a breath when she locked eyes with the mystery girl, finally recognizing her from the pictures she got for detective work.

“Maki? But I thought you were—”

“Yeah, I fucking know,” Maki cut her off, not even sparing a glance in her direction. “Everyone keeps saying they thought I was kidnapped and are ‘grateful for my return’. For your information, I _wasn’t._ ” She stopped, glaring at Kyoko intensely. “Your friend must have lied about where I went.”

“My friend?” Kyoko inquired, confusion just growing even more.

Maki sighed. “Are all detectives this dense?” She shook her head. “I’m talking about Celestia. She’s the only person I even mentioned leaving to, and never even responded when I said I was back.”

“Wait,” Kyoko stopped her, trying to take this all in. “Celestia’s the one who told me you were kidnapped, and she seemed horrified when she did. That couldn’t be fake, right?”

“She’s a gambler,” Maki shrugged. “She can fake anything easily. Don’t tell me you, a certified _detective,_ believed everything that came out of her mouth?”

Kyoko stiffened. Celestia wouldn’t lie to her, they’ve become so close due to these cases. There was no way she was faking anything, Maki had to be the one pretending. She just didn’t want it to be on blast that she was kidnapped, that’s it. She just didn’t want attention from it, that’s exactly right!

“Girl detective,” Maki called, snapping Kyoko back to the conversation. “Celestia lies to everyone, it's no surprise you’ve become a victim to it. Just believe me when I say that brat lied about everything regarding me in the last two weeks.”

Purple eyes broke away from Maki’s red locked onto Shuichi’s timid grey ones. The other detective only shrugged with a sigh.

“I don’t really want to be in the middle of this…” he admitted, backing away from the door. “How about you two talk this out and I’ll be here when the verdict is reached?”

Maki looked between Kyoko and Shuichi, before nodding and agreeing with his terms. Kyoko, however, shook her head.

“I can’t,” she muttered, “I need to find Celestia.” Shuichi looked like he wanted to say something but kept himself quiet. “I apologize if this is seen as rude, I just really need to confront her about this.”

“It’s fine,” Maki sighed. “Don’t beat her ass without me, I have some words for her myself.”

Kyoko hesitated but nodded. She exchanged quick goodbyes with the assassin and the other detective before speed walking back the direction she came from, determined to speak with the gambler at this very moment.

This had to all be a misunderstanding— that’s all her mind was telling her. Maybe she was just so overwhelmed with stress that she misheard Celestia when she said Maki was kidnapped or something, that was always a possibility. Somehow, Celestia wouldn’t be to blame for Maki’s false alibi, and it would go right in the end.

At least, that’s what she hoped for when she reached the dorm that belonged to Celestia. She released a breath, dropped her tense shoulders, and knocked on the door; ready for the conversation awaiting her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahaha, the cliffhanger, a useful but painful thing. im not even sorry, be prepared for shit to go down next chapter.
> 
> and when i say it goes down, it goes down HARD :D


	15. just a disagreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heheheh >:D

Once the knock was heard, Celestia stood up with a sigh. She had two options here; she could continue lying about the situation and act like she knew nothing or come clean the moment Kyoko walked into the room

The first choice was how her old self would have handled a situation like this— she would lie her way out of it and manipulate others in her favor. She can act like she genuinely thought Maki was kidnapped, and maybe the abductors messed with her to bring Celestia down too. She’s lied to detectives before due to her career path, so this may be easy as well.

On the other hand, she can easily tell the truth about everything. She could come clean, lessening the loss of trust she would receive if she lied and Kyoko somehow found out.

Both choices were too difficult to choose from at that point in time, so she just opened the door and decided to choose one depending on how Kyoko began the conversation.

“Can I speak with you for a moment please?”

Celestia nodded, moving out of the way, and allowing Kyoko to enter. Choosing to avoid direct eye contact, she closed the door behind the detective and moved back to sit on her bed.

“What is it you wish to talk about?” Celestia inquired, knowing damn well what this conversation would be about.

“I… need to speak with you about Maki,’’ Kyoko said after taking a breath. “She returned from her status of being missing.”

“Oh, did she?” the gambler smiled. “That’s wonderful news, so why do you seem so upset?”

Kyoko placed her head in her hands with a groan. “I need you to be honest with me,” she started. “Did you or did you not lie to me when you said Maki was kidnapped?”

“Hm? Why would I do that?”

The detective took another deep breath. “She’s been telling me that you lied regarding her whereabouts. She told me you were the only one aware of roughly where she went, and I really need to know if she is right or not.”

When Celestia responded with a blank stare, Kyoko decided to continue.

“I want to believe you, but if she’s right then you have to tell m—.”

“I have no reason to lie to you,” Celestia interrupted.

“Look, I know that, but I’ve already been deceived with these cases and I don’t want to—”

Celestia stiffened. “Are you comparing me to that silver-haired degenerate?” Her tone sharpened upon being reminded of Peko.

“That’s not it,” Kyoko reasoned. “I—”

“Kyoko,” Celestia stood, walking over to where Kyoko was and wrapping her arms around her from behind, and nuzzling herself into the crook of her neck. “You know I wouldn’t lie to you, right?”

The detective shook her head. “You’ve openly admitted to being a liar, I have no choice but to question everything you—”

“But darling, I wouldn’t—”

“Celestia, will you stop interrupting me and just fucking let me speak?” Kyoko huffed, breaking away from Celestia’s embrace and beginning to pace around the room. She planned on speaking, but Celestia got to it before her.

“Excuse me?” she hid her growing anger with a giggle. “I wouldn’t recommend talking to me like that, detective.”

Kyoko stopped in her tracks, spinning on her heel to glare at Celestia. “I’m sorry, but if you answered my question, maybe I wouldn’t have had to.”

“You really believe someone who was gone for almost two weeks straight over your very own girlfriend? I thought you knew better.”

“Celestia, please, all I need is a yes or a no,” Kyoko sighed. “It’s really not that hard.”

“Fine,” the gambler growled. “So what if she wasn’t really kidnapped? So what if I lied about it? What difference does it make?”

The detective stared in shock. She didn’t want to believe Celestia had lied to her, but here she was admitting it in a fit of rage. Their eyes met, and Kyoko saw the uncontrollable rage contained inside them.

“It makes a huge difference!” she shot back, a scowl forming on her face. “Did you not fucking witness a whole breakdown from me after you said she was kidnapped?” She let out a laugh— it was the only way for her not to lose any more of her sanity. “Did you not see how much stress the possibility of another victim brought me? Do you just not care?”

“How _dare_ you accuse me of not caring for you?!” Celestia stepped forward, keeping her fists clenched, and growled again in anger. “I lied to you _because_ I cared for you!”

Kyoko rolled her eyes. “You show affection by lying? Is lying your only personality trait or something?”

“Don’t act as if you’ve never lied to someone before!” Celestia crossed her arms, just barely keeping herself from throwing a punch at the other. “I didn’t even have bad intentions; all I was thinking about was you!”

“You _knew_ how much stress I was under, yet you did it anyway! And who in their right mind lies about a kidnapping in the first place?!”

“All I wanted to do was fucking spend more time with you,” Celestia admitted, rage seeping through her tone. “And this is the thanks I get.”

“I have the right not to be grateful when you purposely lie about where a possible abduction victim is!” Kyoko rubbed her forehead, laughing again at how utterly stupid she found this argument. “Do you not know that I thought they were all dead, and that I had failed as a detective? Your fun little games to try to win my heart are so worth my stress and self-deprecation, apparently.”

Celestia was continuously clenching and unclenching her fists. She knew she had to keep her mind physically occupied, so that’s what she resorted to. Her thoughts were overtaken by anger, and any chance of talking this out normally was thrown out the window.

“I still can’t believe you lied to me about this,” Kyoko continued, amusement fading into sorrow as she fought back a sob at the back of her throat. “You don’t know… how difficult it was for me to trust you— I don’t even trust you fully yet, there’s still so much I have yet to tell you, and right now I don’t even want you in my sight.”

“You think you’re the one with trust issues?” Celestia scoffed. “Do you think you’re special because you can’t trust anyone with your life story?”

“I— you know what, I can’t fucking take this,” the detective laughed, running a gloved hand through her hair. “You’re insane; you lied about a real crime and here I am, still arguing with you over it.” She turned her back to Celestia again, walking towards the door. “You’re obviously not worth my time, so I’m not going to waste it for someone who thinks their personal gain means more than someone else’s safety.”

“What else was I supposed to do?” Celestia tried to reason, causing Kyoko to freeze in front of the doorway. “How else was I supposed to get you to spend more time with me if you were so focused on these disappearances?”

Kyoko sighed heavily, not even granting Celestia the satisfaction of seeing her turn to face her. “I don’t know, maybe actually help me with these cases instead of misleading me and making them even harder and more stressful for me,” she spat out bitterly. “Just a thought.”

With that, the door slammed shut, and Celestia couldn’t take her eyes off of it. She was finally beginning to cool down, and she sighed at the sight of her empty room. This definitely wasn’t how she planned on spending her day; practically breaking up with her girlfriend after such a short period of time.

She brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and hanging her head. Her anger got the best of her, and she knew that, but she couldn’t control it. Kyoko accused her of not caring when that wasn’t even true! She had to defend herself somehow.

A few tears slipped past her eyes and down her cheeks, causing the fabric of her stockings to absorb the drops as they continued down her face. Her social life was shattering right before her eyes, all because of what she would’ve called a little white lie.

She sniffled, not caring to find a box of tissues to encourage her crying. She just sat at the edge of the bed, slowly rocking back and forth to calm herself down until she eventually fell to her side. The motivation to get back up just wasn’t in her, so she fell laid there and fell asleep in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> arguments are harrrddd. like so much dialogue, get up and do something lmao.
> 
> i want you all to keep in mind that there is a wild maki harukawa still on the loose who has openly admitted to hunting down celestia. be prepared for that :)


	16. preparing for yet another altercation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> djsdjjsjdsf its been forever... more like just less than two weeks but hi
> 
> my issue was that i knew what i wanted to write, but just couldn't because fillers are so uninteresting to write. so here i am, updating much later than i wanted to, with an uneventful chapter. 
> 
> sorry guys 💔

The door behind Kyoko slammed shut and she released a huff of breath when the sound echoed throughout her room and quite possibly into the hallway too. She couldn’t really care less for that, all she needed was time to herself to think everything over— to calm herself down before anything reckless or regretful is done.

She took a deep breath, leaning against the door for support and running her hands through her hair. Her mind was spinning with questions, but the main one was why she felt the need to start yelling like that at Celestia? She knew she was a relatively calm person, both on the exterior and the interior, so her getting that upset was honestly an accomplishment for herself.

Kyoko found herself looking at her wall of suspects and victims, frowning at the now proved incorrect information. She would have to rethink almost everything on that wall, just because Celestia wanted to spend time with her? What excuse even was that?

“How stupid could you be?” Kyoko scolded herself out loud, shaking her head dejectedly. “What in you decided it was a great idea to trust a gambler; one who calls herself the Queen of Liars at that? Grandfather is going to be so disappointed in you."

She couldn’t understand what in her chose to act this way with Celestia in the first place. Her reason for coming to Hope’s Peak was to watch the class and evaluate if they can be involved in the kidnappings in any way. Relationships should not have joined her list of things to do here, yet she got into one anyway. She guessed that the relationship ending that quickly must have been a sign from the world that she wasn’t ready for anything romance related.

Her gloved hand has somehow subconsciously made its way to touch her bottom lip, which initiated the memory of their kiss. Well, more like a make-out session, in her office. She knew she felt something for the gambler because when she started that contact, she felt something stir up inside her. So, it's not that she doesn’t have feelings for her, she just— one; can’t stay with a compulsive liar, and two; shouldn’t be with a possible criminal like her in the first place.

…But the _kiss._

It had felt like heaven to her, and she wanted more of that. She wanted to feel something for the girl while they were cuddled up in each other’s arms. She wanted to draw more gasps and moans from the gambler. She wanted to hear her name come out of Celestia’s mouth during the most intimate times they could have. She wanted to—

“No,” Kyoko negated herself as she squeezed her eyes shut to forget everything she wanted in that aspect

She knew she couldn’t have any more of that kind of stuff, not while people’s lives were counting on her deduction skills. Who even was she to question how she felt? In her eyes, her own emotions shouldn’t matter, especially when a case is presented like this one.

Kyoko shook her head again to clear her thoughts and stood up, readjusting and brushing off her skirt. Feelings and emotions should be the least of her worries, the truth of this case matters more than anything at that time. No more friendships or relationships for her until she finally finished this case.

She didn’t need Celestia, and Celestia didn’t need her. They can go back to how they were before; just mere acquaintances who didn’t know much about the other.

Kyoko nodded to herself— her thoughts were right; she didn’t need anyone like Celestia in her life. She could solve this case with Shuichi and Shuichi alone, someone who actually knew what they were doing, and get it off her hands so she can relax for a few days until the next case gets handed to her, and then she can repeat the same thing with the other detective.

Celestia was nowhere in that equation.

* * *

An abnormally loud ring was heard from Celestia’s phone, which was placed inconveniently across the room from her. Said girl groaned, rubbing her eyes, only to feel pain in them.

“Not the contacts again,” she mumbled to herself, getting up to check the status of her eyes.

Sure enough, when she looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes were red, and her irises still were too. Celestia rolled her eyes, taking out the contacts just as she did before, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu from a while ago. Shrugging that off with uncertainty, she picked up the phone in which displayed the time and a few text messages.

For starters, it was almost noon, meaning she had accidentally skipped about half of her classes already. She found herself shrugging at that thought— if she already missed half then what was the point of going to the others, especially looking the way she did.

The messages that awaited her weren’t too many but said enough to leave her in suspense. There was a sweet string of texts from Mukuro, asking where she was and why she wasn’t at class and a short sentence from Maki.

_gungopewpew: youre either going to meet me in my dorm or im coming to yours. make up your mind quickly._

Celestia stared at the words for a few moments longer than she would’ve liked before sighing. Why did she think she’d get out of this without Maki wanting to speak with her?

In her hand, the phone buzzed again, and to her surprise, it was from the same girl she just read the text from.

_gungopewpew: so you finally read my message. update; im bringing peko w me to your dorm instead of mine in five minutes. dont even think about making any excuses about this either, this conversation WILL happen._

Celestia placed her phone back down and put her face in her hands, letting out a groan of frustration. Did Peko, of all people, really have to join her? Why couldn’t she just be scolded by Maki on her own, since she knew that was bound to happen?

By the energy the texts gave off, she had no way of getting out of this. She could try to use her still red eyes as an excuse, but Maki clearly stated that none would be accepted.

The goth let out a huff of breath through her nose, regretting all her decisions leading up to this moment. She wanted to blame Taeko, but she knew damn well her Celestia persona played a part in her idea. The lying was the main reason, along with it being for her own benefit. So honestly, fuck both of her personalities, they both sucked for their decisions.

If she was smart— meaning she was upfront about her feelings from the start— none of this would be happening. She’d happily be with Kyoko, and wouldn’t be sitting here on her own, waiting for yet another argument to transpire in her room and for yet another outburst of rage, resulting in more people she’d lost.

She swallowed thickly once she heard a series of knocks on her door for the second time in two days. Mentally, she braced herself for a world of hell from both killers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> maki and peko be out for blood
> 
> anyways, i have my idea for my next celesgiri longfic and im pretty excited to start it after this :)


	17. yet another argument

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS WAS SO HARD TO WRITE BYE

“Enter,” Celestia called out, trying to keep her voice controlled and not daring to move from where she stood. Her heart was racing; a natural reaction to a situation such as this. She knew she’d somehow lose her temper, so part of her wondered why even try to tame it in the first place? Even with that thought in mind, she decided to shake it off with a shrug and turn her attention to the now opening door.

She was met with hard, unamused stares from both Maki and Peko as the door opened. None of them really spoke at first, they just shared awkward glances in silence with each other. Celestia kept up eye contact with Maki while Peko looked away, quite obviously not the one for confrontation. The gambler took a breath, gaining as much confidence as she could to speak up.

“Please do not waste my time here,” Celestia started, eyes never leaving the red ones of Maki. “What is it you need with me?”

“You lied.”

To her surprise, it was not Maki who responded. Instead, it was Peko, who brought her gaze back from the floor up to Celestia.

“Pardon?” Celestia furrowed her brows.

“You lied,” Peko repeated. “Though I’m sure you heard me the first time.”

Celestia scoffed. “And?” she prompted. “So did you about Ibuki. We’re even.”

“You’re a hypocrite,” Maki chimed in, stepping even closer to Peko. “She told me everything. How _dare_ you have the nerve to berate her on her lies when yours were much worse?”

“I think you’re overreacting. If anything, both of our lies were misleading and caused the people working on this case unnecessary stress.” Celestia started to twirl a strand of her hair between her fingers out of growing anxiety. “No lie was worse or better for anyone.”

Maki huffed, covering her face with her hands. “You’re unbelievable,” she growled. “You really think that what Peko did wasn’t worse than you? I specifically told you to make up a lie other than me being kidnapped, and what do you do?”

“I—”

“The exact opposite,” Peko didn’t allow Celestia to speak.

“Was there a motive for that?” The assassin asked, crossing her arms. “I swear if you say that stupid purple-haired girl from the café—”

“She’s not stupid!” Celestia snarled. “Don’t even think of bringing her into this, you wretch!”

“Did I hit a nerve?” Maki chuckled rudely. “Was I right?”

Celestia didn’t know how to respond. She _was_ right, but she wasn’t supposed to know that. Even though their relationship was barely existent, she still felt the urge to protect Kyoko and defend her. Even after their previous argument the day prior, she still wanted no one to speak lowly of her.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” Mai declared. “It was all for that girl?”

“She’s not just any other girl,” Celestia snapped. “I lied for a damn good reason. I would’ve solved it all on my own if you hadn’t ruined it!”

“To me, she looks, sounds, and acts like any other girl you could see anywhere. And from I’ve heard, all she wants to focus on is her job, and you want to get in the way of that? Do you really even like her, or do you like the fact that you’re messing with her?”

Celestia stiffened. “I’m… not just messing with her,” she muttered. “How would you know how I feel? You have no one to go to like I do!”

“ _Did,_ ” Maki corrected with a smirk. “I ran into her before I came here with Peko. I even asked about you, and she just walked off. No comment on you at all— how does that make you feel?”

“It doesn’t bother me,” Celestia lied. “But what does bother me is how you speak about her. You don’t have the right to degrade her in that manner.”

“And what right do you have to defend her?” Maki countered. “She doesn’t care about you now; you broke her trust. What reason do you have to stop me from talking about her?”

“Maki, that might be too much…” Peko put a hand on the girl’s shoulder, trying to calm her down.

“It’s not,” Maki grumbled. “She lied about where I was. She deserves it.”

“I deserve it?” Celestia placed a hand over her mouth to cover her giggles. “And why does she not deserve it too? She did the same thing as me, did she not?”

Peko tilted her head. “I was trying to help you, but if we’re going to turn this back on me…”

“She never explicitly said anything about Ibuki being kidnapped, she never said anything. You, on the other hand, knew exactly what you were doing when you told that detective girl what had supposedly happened to me.”

The gambler was beginning to grow frustrated with both of the girls in her room.

“You did all of this for a girl who at the time probably didn’t care about you. All she needed you for was information, and you failed to do that,” Maki stepped forward. “You’re embarrassing.”

It was like she was speaking through Celestia, straight to Taeko. The girl hated it. She balled her fists again, eyes practically glowing with rage. She couldn’t even speak; words wouldn’t form. All she did was bring up both hands to shove Maki away from her.

The assassin blinked, noticing how she wasn’t pushed too far back.

“Excuse me?”

Peko instantly tried to tug Maki away, but the assassin acted too fast on instinct. No one could do anything when Maki launched at Celestia, landing a blow to the side of her head. Celestia stumbled backward, hitting the edge of her bed, and glaring daggers at the now even more confident Maki.

“You bitch,” she growled lowly. “I’ll burn you!”

She wasn’t able to attack Maki, as Peko stood between them.

“Move,” the gambler ordered.

Peko shook her head. “You won’t hurt her this way; you know your strength difference.”

Celestia crossed her arms, sadly realizing that the swordswoman was right and that there was a considerably large difference in their abilities. She was mentally smarter, and Maki reigned supreme physically.

“I don’t care,” Celestia replied. “Move— now.”

“Maki,” Peko turned her head. “We’re leaving. We never agreed on harming her.”

“She hit me first, that bitch!” Maki ignored Peko’s first demand, failing at pushing her away.

Peko sighed. “I honestly don’t care,” she rolled her eyes. “Just leave. Ruthless violence will get you nowhere.”

“Lying doesn’t get her anywhere either,” the assassin shot back, shooting a glare at Celestia before exiting the room. “I don’t want to speak with you ever again.”

“Likewise,” Celestia spat. “Get out of my sight.”

Maki scoffed, leaving the room with Peko right behind her. However, the girl shot a disapproving glance over her shoulder before doing so, closing the door and leaving Celestia back to her own mind. That bitch had the nerve to insult Kyoko, then even talk down to her! She had no choice, in her defense, even if it did result in a minor head injury.

She groaned in pain, clutching the side of her head with a hand. It was beginning to hurt like hell already. She needed ice and some comfort food, but she didn’t want to leave her room like this. Hifumi was a very good option for sending out to get her stuff, but he would mess up one thing or another.

With that, she sighed, a hand still on her head as she exited her room, making sure neither Maki nor Peko was near her before leaving the room entirely. She closed the door behind her, making her way down the hall of dorms to the dining hall. Teruteru could make her some amazing gyoza if she threatened him enough. She entered the dining hall with caution but stopped when she saw someone she really didn’t want to see in her state.

Against her will, she locked gazes with Kyoko. She didn’t want to, it just happened. She was the first thing she laid eyes upon after entering. The detective’s eyes filled with concern when she saw Celestia, but the gambler only saw that for a split second before her mask was put back up and she was ignored, going back to talk to Shuichi, most likely about the abduction cases.

She looked so concerned for that split second, it broke Celestia’s heart. It was no doubt because of the quickly forming bump on her head, and probably her eyes from earlier. It helped that she was even worried in the first place, but she felt bad that Kyoko couldn’t display any more emotion around her. It only went to show how she completely shattered the trust they had formed on a lie.

Celestia ignored the need for food and an ice pack, going straight back to her room. The eye contact with Kyoko had proved to be too much to her, so hiding in her room for most of the day would probably suffice for comfort instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> maki be ruthless, at least peko has some sense rn


	18. getting a lead?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooooo early update!!! so unheard of from me!
> 
> idk what happened but i felt so inspired for this chapter haha
> 
> but TW!! abusive relationship! not like romantic but sibling rlationship! pretty sure its obvious who im talking about but i wanted to put this in just in case anyone is sensitive to that!!

Kyoko regretted looking up to see who had entered the dining hall. She went here solely to cleanse her mind and work on her cases with Shuichi; Celestia showing up was never mentioned nor even wanted in her plan. But when they made eye contact, her heart broke at the sight of Celestia being _hurt_. She hated it.

“You okay there?”

She was showing emotion.

“Fine,” Kyoko managed, turning her attention back to Shuichi in front of her. “I’m perfectly fine. Let’s just get back to work."

"Right..." Shuichi cleared his throat, shuffling through paper after paper. It was quite obvious he didn’t believe her just by the tone of his voice, but Kyoko decided not to question it, as it wasn’t brought up in the first place and she didn’t plan to.

The girl detective resisted the urge to look back up and see if Celestia had left. She had to remind herself that in order to continue with these cases, Celestia was to be nowhere near her emotionally. As much as it bothered her, it had to be that way, for the sake of her detective work.

“You do realize that… we still have no leads, right?” Shuichi asked, handing over a half sheet of paper to Kyoko. “Every person on here was crossed out after being disproved by evidence. We have nothing else to go on.”

“I understand that,” Kyoko replied, eyes scanning over the crossed-out names and sentences. “The perpetrator had to have messed up somewhere. Nothing anyone does is covered up perfectly.”

That was their issue. There wasn’t much evidence even left behind to go off of. It was like the killer dotted every eye, making it known that they weren’t new to this kind of thing. It was frustrating, to say the least. There wasn’t any obvious evidence, and what they did have led them nowhere.

An annoying ringing sound made Kyoko roll her eyes. She glared at Shuichi, who scrambled to answer the call coming through to his phone, shakily speaking once it was up to his ear. Kyoko didn’t pay attention to how long he spoke, but the next thing she knew, he was sputtering out an apology and saying he had to leave early. All she got out of it was Kokichi’s name and that the boy needed help. What he needed help with was something she couldn’t say she cared about.

“Go ahead,” she grumbled, dropping her eyes to look back at her notebook. Shuichi nodded, taking what he needed from their table and rushing out of the dining hall in a hurry.

* * *

“Junko, I don’t want to hurt them…”

Celestia stopped dead in her tracks. Her initial destination was her room, but she decided to delay her arrival there for a few minutes. Almost instantly after she heard the first sentence, a sound of someone being… hit? Whatever it was, it echoed across the hallway, followed by a yelp of presumable pain and a thud. Due to her curiosity getting the best of her, Celestia just _had_ to figure out what was happening.

“Shut it, ugly! You don’t have the right to an opinion!”

“Junko…?” Celestia tilted her head, quickening her pace to peer around the corner. She was able to see Mukuro lying on the floor quite awkwardly, and in fact, Junko standing over top of her. “What’re they talking about?”

“You are my _subordinate,_ not my equal!” Junko spat, nudging Mukuro with her boot roughly. “Sidekicks don’t get to tell who they work for what to do!”

The gambler felt extremely confused. What could those two possibly be talking about? Not wanting to hurt anyone? Who was even in danger in the first place?

“They’re _my_ captives, not yours,” Junko continued, crossing her arms. “If you don’t want to go along with my plans, then you can get the fuck out of them. I can find someone as capable as you easily, probably even more if I tried.”

Captives…? Surely, she couldn’t be talking about—

“I-I just don’t want to hurt any of my friends,” Mukuro borderline whined from the ground, lifting her head up to look at Junko.

“Then get the hell away from my operation and tell no one.”

“That’s not what I meant!” The soldier shakily hoisted herself up from the ground, albeit slowly, and brushed off her white shirt. “I’ll do it, but I don’t want them h—”

Junko grabbed ahold of Mukuro’s tie, pulling her closer and provoking a yelp from the girl. Celestia covered her mouth to muffle an involuntary gasp.

“Once again, you are working for me, not with me,” Junko practically growled. Celestia watched as her expression changed into a more playful one instantly afterward. “You wouldn’t wanna weave youw poow wittle sister on hew own, wight?

“R-right,” Mukuro choked out. “I’m sorry, Junko, I’ll make it up to you…”

She just coincidentally happened to look over in Celestia’s direction and made eye contact with the gambler. Celestia froze under the fearful gaze of the soldier, who was dropped back down after their connection. Junko leaned back down, grabbing Mukuro by the chin and forcing her head away from where she was looking.

“Now, are you going to keep working with me; or will I have to do something about it?” She whispered, except not very quietly because Celestia made out every word she said without any issue.

“I’m going to work with you…”

“Perfect!” The fashionista jumped back up, letting Mukuro’s head drop back down below her. “Since you’re soooo protective of the captives, why don’t you guard them while I go out tonight? They could use some company, so they don’t go insane, especially that misandrist girl since she’s been with us the longest.”

Mukuro nodded. “Yes, Junko,” she confirmed, her voice devoid of the happiness it usually had when she was speaking with anyone else.

“Glad we could come to an agreement,” Junko smiled sadistically. “Now get your ass up before anyone sees you. I’ll be in my room.”

That was the last thing Junko said before wandering off down the hall. Mukuro pushed herself back up with her hands again, grunting as she did so. Once again, she caught Celestia’s staring eye and sighed. Celestia ducked away before any words could be exchanged and began weighing her options for her next move.

She could either speak to Mukuro about this and maybe find some sort of way on her own to get everyone out safely, including Mukuro herself. Or, she could go straight to Kyoko and inform her right away, letting her and whoever else she was required to tell, handle the whole situation for her.

Celestia sighed. She would just have to trust Mukuro to handle herself for a little while longer.

Her body then moved on its own, going back towards the dining hall which she just recently fled from, going as fast as she could manage with her heels— which admittedly was not that fast. Although she knew it would be one of the most awkward interactions she had ever been in, she had to push through that for the sake of the abducted girls.

She reached the end of the hall, ignoring the few people standing around and staring at her, for once not caring what they were saying or gossiping about. She pushed the dining hall doors open once again, much less timid than before. At this point, Shuichi wasn’t there like he was before, which honestly may have been good for her but at the same time made it much more awkward.

Kyoko looked up from her notebook and papers, at first seeming annoyed but then shocked when she took in who was in front of her. Right now, Celestia didn’t care what emotion she was showing through her mask, so she sped to the seat in front of her and sat down. Of course, Kyoko still didn’t know what was happening, so she opened her mouth to speak but stopped when she saw how distressed and shaken up Celestia was.

Celestia sighed, taking a deep breath and looking Kyoko in the eye.

“I know who kidnapped them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they’re gonna SPEAK AGAIN HAHEDMSSDN SO READY TO WRITE THEIR INTERACTION


	19. someone to the rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the holidays were crazy... but im back w another update!
> 
> im so excited for my next story bc itll be really fun to write but i dont think this one is anywhere near done jdwlkdsh helppp

Kyoko narrowed her eyes, choosing not to show how she was taken aback by Celestia’s declaration. She began gathering her things to leave as quickly as she could manage. She couldn’t risk getting into any conversations about serious topics like this with Celestia, who knows if she could be lying again.

“Kyoko, come on,” Celestia pleaded, eyes not leaving Kyoko. “I’m being serious here; I have genuine information.”

No response was given, leaving the dining hall oddly silent. Celestia sighed— how was she supposed to deal with Kyoko being this petty to her? She didn’t even have the decency even spare her a word!

“Kyoko,” the gambler repeated, “listen to me, please.”

Silence washed over the two once again, and Celestia could feel the anger bubbling up inside her, but she refused to let it show. Kyoko was just blatantly ignoring her, keeping her neutral mask in place. Once all her belongings were in one pile, she picked them up along with her pencil, standing from her chair and setting her eyes on the exit.

Celestia decided she wasn’t having any of that. Before Kyoko could move, the gambler reached out her hand, gripping onto Kyoko’s leather sleeve to stop her from going anywhere. The detective shot a glare Celestia’s way— one that showed how irritated she was getting. She opened her mouth to speak, but the other was quick to speak before her.

“Look, I know you’re upset with me,” Celestia began, keeping her firm grip on Kyoko’s arm. “And that’s perfectly understandable; I would be upset with me as well. You have every right to be mad at me.”

Kyoko blinked wordlessly, maintaining what Celestia would label as awkward eye contact. Her eyes looked like they were telling her to continue, but then there was this part of Kyoko that said to just shut up already. Celestia internally sighed, deciding to go with the first option.

“But what I need you to do, even if it’s only this once, is to just listen to me,” Celestia continued, standing from her chair. “I’m being entirely honest here this time, I swear to you. No ounce of me is lying when I say I can help you this time.”

They both stared at each other in silence again. It was extremely awkward. Kyoko took a breath, and for a moment, Celestia had hope that Kyoko would hear her out and listen to what she had to say. However, when she opened her eyes and they glared down at her with such ferocity, she started to think otherwise.

“Let go of my arm,” Kyoko hissed, confirming Celestia’s revised theory and disregarding her entire speech. “I’m leaving.”

“Kyoko, stop. I’m being serious!”

“And I’m serious when I say that I. Am. Leaving.”

Celestia huffed, her grip on Kyoko tightening. “Just hear me out, that’s all I ask,” she mumbled. “I don’t usually beg like this, you know.”

“I don’t care for your begging,” Kyoko snapped, yanking her arm away and detaching her sleeve from Celestia’s strong hold. “I have more important matters to tend to.”

She turned her head away, notebook and papers in hand, and started heading towards the exit of the dining hall. No more words were exchanged as Celestia growled at herself, hiding her face in her hands on the table.

What else could she do to get Kyoko to believe her? She already begged, poured her heart and soul out into a speech that was ignored without any regard to it— she was out of ideas! Next thing she knows, she’ll be on her knees for Kyoko, and not in the intimate and fun way!

She let out another strained grumble. This information of Junko and Mukuro had to go somewhere! If Kyoko wasn’t going to let her speak, someone had to. She couldn’t just sit on who she knows is the culprit and not tell anyone else, she would probably be convicted for conspiring with the twins too, and she would _not_ be spending any time in jail with those… people. She’ll put it at that.

An option for her was to go to Shuichi, but what would the emo boy even do about it? He was probably way too intimidated by her form earlier interactions to even speak with her one on one. Damn her past self for trying to feel above others.

Honestly, she was debating on getting up and following Kyoko, but she didn’t even know where the detective went off to. She could’ve gone anywhere in the school, maybe even left it to go to the detective firm since they had a weeklong break of classes. The possibilities were endless.

“Celestiaaaa!”

The gambler being referred to straightened up at the exclamation of her name. She looked to her right, instantly locking gazes with Azumi.

“Azumi?” Celestia questioned.

“Oh my gosh, it’s been forever!” The green and black-haired girl smiled, rushing over to sit across from Celestia.

“It’s only been a few days,” Celestia spoke to herself.

“Psh, that’s irrelevant,” Azumi shrugged. “Woah… your face.”

Celestia covered her forehead with her hand, specifically the bump from Maki earlier. “Ignore that, I got into a disagreement with someone.”

“That looks like a lot more than just a disagreement,” Azumi frowned. “Anyway— wait. Were you crying?”

Celestia blinked. Had she really been crying? She brought up a hand to her face. She was immediately met with tears that were halfway down her face. She had no recollection of crying— maybe it was just instinctual from her Kyoko situation or something.

“I must not have realized it,” Celestia responded, wiping under her eyes. “Pay no mind to it.”

“You can’t just tell me not to pay attention to that!” Azumi protested, reaching both her hands over the table. “Give me your hands, woman!”

Albeit hesitantly, Celestia extended both her hands, allowing Azumi to take them in hers.

“Okay, serious face!” Azumi whispered to herself, taking a deep breath with her eyes closed. She opened them and smiled again. “Now, what’s got you so worked up?”

“I’m not worked up…”

“Wrong!” Azumi shouted, provoking Celestia to flinch and blink her eyes. “Oops,” the drummer giggled. “Try again.”

If she told Azumi about her situation with Kyoko, she would have to explain all the classified information she was given, and even though they weren’t on speaking terms, Celestia still wanted to keep her promise of not talking about anything she learned. There had to be a way to make this as vague as possible.

“It’s about Kyoko…” Celestia cautiously began, taking her hands away from Azumi and twirling a strand of hair between her fingers from her growing anxiety. “We’re… not on good terms, and she won’t even listen to me speak.”

“Oohhhh, is that why I saw her leaving the dining hall as I walked in?” Azumi inquired with a tilted head. “She looked upset! I tried asking her about it, but she just waved me off and said she was fine! It was so mean, and not to mention it was obviously a lie!”

Celestia narrowed her eyes. Kyoko supposedly being distressed had piqued her interest. “Upset?” she repeated with concern and curiosity.

“Yeah, but I don’t really know how to describe it. But whatever, you need to tell me what you did to make her mad!”

“We just, uh…” Celestia trailed off, trying to think of the right words to make her problem seem like an innocent teenager's quarrel. “I lied about something really important, and she doesn’t want anything to do with me. That’s it.”

“Soooo you made her mad by lying and she doesn’t want you to lie to her again so doesn’t want to risk speaking with you?” Azumi suggested, wearing a smile that was way too happy for their current discussion.

Celestia shrugged. “That makes sense,” she admitted. “But I have something I really need to tell her, and she won’t let me talk.” She dropped her arm from the side of her head to rest her chin on her hand. “Since you’re my ‘therapist’, what do you suggest?”

“Hmm,” the drummer put a finger on her chin in thought. “I mean, have you apologized?”

“Why would I do that?”

Azumi made a noise of confusion, her eyebrows furrowing and her mouth agape. “Are you serious?”

“Of course, I am…” Celestia mumbled back.

“You lied to that poor girl and you have the _audacity_ to ask why you would apologize?” Azumi sighed, putting her head in her hands. “I can’t believe you, no wonder she wouldn’t speak to you.”

The blue-eyed girl put her hands down, standing up from her seat.

“You, my good madam, are going to find where Kyoko is and apologize to her, this instant!” she demanded, crossing her arms. “You’ll be lucky if she even accepts it!”

Usually, Celestia would snap at anyone for speaking to her like that, but Azumi had a point in her mind. How did she expect Kyoko to speak to her from her begging alone?

Originally, she didn’t think she was in the wrong at all. In her eyes, Kyoko should’ve been grateful that she was lied to. She was doing this to spend time together, for their sake! Why she wasn’t accepting of it baffled the gambler during their altercation.

Though now she understood. She lied for her own benefit— to get the girl she wanted. She barely aided Kyoko in her detective work; hell, she even distracted her from it time after time. No one would be grateful if the person in question distracted them and even gave them false evidence that led them in the wrong direction, specifically for their own good.

“I don’t even know where she went,” Celestia finally replied. “I just sat here after she left.”

“Well, um, that’s an issue,” Azumi chuckled awkwardly. “Okay, we’ll make do with it, don’t worry.”

“’ Make do’ how, exactly?”

“Well duh,” the girl grinned mischievously. “Operation search for Kyoko Kirigiri starts now!”

Celestia sighed. “Oh goodness…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> azumi coming in clutch...
> 
> also i like how azumi is pretty much a replica of ibuki, but with hints of both yuri and yui from angel beats. i find it really fun


	20. speaking again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was gonna split this in two but like... you guys deserve a longer chapter for my absence. my apologies, things got rough. but here i am :D

“Azumi, we’ve looked just about everywhere else. Why can’t we go to her dorm?”

“Silence, gambler! That’s too obvious!”

Celestia sighed. They’ve been searching for what felt like hours, but in reality, it had only been about forty-five minutes. All to find where Kyoko went off to. The goth insisted on Kyoko being set in her dorm room, because why wouldn’t she be, but Azumi, with her self-proclaimed ‘big brain’, insisted that her dorm was a much too obvious spot. She said it was obvious like Kyoko knew Celestia was looking for her, which Celestia found ridiculous.

“Where else is there even left to look?” Celestia sighed, ready to just leave Azumi on her own at this point.

“She always could’ve left the school and went somewhere else,” the drummer replied, crossing her arms in defeat. “I can’t think of anywhere else she could be!”

The gambler bit back another sigh. Sometimes this girl was too dense for her own good, which did not make sense considering how smart she acted other times.

“I’m going to her dorm,” she announced, turning her back on Azumi.

“Huh—What?!” Azumi exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “She won’t— okay, fine. But when she doesn’t answer the door, expect me to laugh right in your face!”

“And if she does?”

“Hey, I don’t think that far ahead…”

Celestia grinned amusingly at the drummer over her shoulder before walking off, hearing Azumi’s protests and footsteps as she ran after her. Azumi caught up with no issue at all, running her hands through her messy bangs, moving them out of her face for once. Luckily for the two of them, Kyoko’s dorm wasn’t too far from where they left off searching.

“Do you have your apology ready?” Azumi questioned.

“No… you’ve been dragging me around aimlessly for almost an hour now,” Celestia rolled her eyes, continuing to walk. “How could I make an apology when I had you constantly making me look for this woman who is so obviously in her dorm room?”

Azumi chuckled awkwardly. “You can’t multitask?”

The goth shook her head with a sigh, choosing not to entertain her with an answer. She released a tense breath when her eyes set upon Kyoko’s name on a plate on her door. Azumi cocked her head to the side when Celestia refused to knock right away.

“Are you going to go in?”

“I…” Celestia trailed off, fidgeting with her ring on her finger. Now was not the time to be nervous, she knew that very well, but she just couldn’t help it.

Her hand reached forward, lingering on the doorknob before her. It wasn’t like her to hesitate, but in this case, the cons seemed to outweigh the pros, and she drew her arm back. She turned back around to the drummer, who tilted her head like a confused dog.

“I can’t do this,” she concluded, turning back around. “She can come to me if she feels like it. I’m not showing weakness and going to her first.”

“Huh? That’s a total backtrack from where we were before!” Azumi protested. “I thought you wanted to be back to normal with her.”

“I _do_ ,” Celestia snapped back. “I do want to be back like we were before. I’m just not doing it first.”

The blue-eyed girl facepalmed with a sigh. “You’re so damn stubborn,” she groaned. Her voice seemed to drop to a more serious tone when she spoke. “If you want things back to normal with her, you need to get over your own fears and go apologize for lying to her. She’s not going to come to you and beg for you to apologize— I know she isn’t like that, and you do too.”

Celestia frowned, knowing Azumi was probably right. Kyoko wasn’t the type to go beg someone for an apology, or just beg anyone to do anything in general. The gambler knew she was wrong, she now knew she shouldn’t have lied just to spend time with Kyoko, but the overwhelming anxiety of being ignored again when she pours her heart out was something, she was barely avoiding by not speaking to her. She had no interest in being completely shut down when she does everything she can to get back on Kyoko’s good side.

“Hey, you’re shaking, slow down,” Azumi reached forward to grab both of Celestia’s shoulders. “Breathe, okay? She’s not going to hurt you or anything, the worst she’ll do is ignore you. And if she does that, I can talk some sense into her!”

With a hesitant nod, Celestia exhaled slowly. Now was definitely not the time to have a panic attack over this.

“You got this, right?” Azumi continued, shaking Celestia gently by the shoulders.

“Yeah,” Celestia confirmed with a small smile. “I— um, thanks… for calming me back down.”

Azumi giggled in response, holding up a peace sign by her head. What an energetic woman. At least she didn’t comment on how strange it was to get an apology from her first.

She brought up her fist to the door, pausing again with nervousness, but when she looked back at Azumi for reassurance, whatever stupid grin she had stuck on her face had somehow inspired her. Said inspiration allowed her to bring her hand on the door, knocking lightly a couple of times before setting it back down, folding it into the other. She shared an awkward glance back at Azumi again, who now had her eyes fixed on the door, waiting for the detective to open it.

It felt like forever. Forever of waiting in front of the door, shuffling her feet and fidgeting with her ring. When she finally heard the doorknob turn, Celestia instinctively straightened up, folding her hands and swallowing. She really shouldn’t be this nervous, she reasoned, but what else was she to do when she was facing her e who quite literally wanted nothing to do with her.

The door opened, and amethyst eyes met blood red. Kyoko closed her eyes and took a breath, presumably asking herself why the hell Celestia was back and rubbed her temples. Now that Celestia wasn’t as stuck in shock as she was when she first got her information and how panicked she was, she could finally take in Kyoko’s appearance. There was no other way to put it; she looked terrible. Her hair was messy, missing its signature braid, and her eyes were dull, matched with dark bags under them.

“Didn’t I already tell you I have stuff to do?” Kyoko spoke with a tone of obvious annoyance. “Why do you insist on following me?” she stopped when she looked to the side and saw Azumi, who smiled again. “And why must you bring someone else along with you?”

Celestia’s mouth narrowed into a straight line. The way Kyoko glared at her had told her everything; she thought she had told Azumi about her investigation.

“I… would just like to speak with you,” Celestia spoke quietly, lowering her head. “Please.”

Kyoko looked between Celestia and Azumi for a few awkwardly long moments, wondering if she should allow Celestia the right to speak with her. After a few more seconds, she rolled her eyes and turned around with a sigh.

“Fine. Come on,” she grumbled, walking back into her dorm. “I don’t have all day.”

Biting back a smile of delight that she got Kyoko to allow her in, Celestia stepped into Kyoko’s room. She shot a look back at Azumi, who opted to sit on the ground by the door, her legs crossed, and the same dorky smile stuck on her face. She gave Celestia a thumbs up with both hands, to which the goth smiled in response, and she closed the door.

She took note of how unkempt the space was, frowning at the mess. It wasn’t this bad the last time she had been here, which was back when they were reviewing the cases over again. The bedsheets were a mess, and empty water bottles and coffee cups littered the floor in large quantities. In all honesty, that worried Celestia. Kyoko never seemed like the messy and unorganized type, and she wasn’t when they were closer.

“How much did you tell her?”

Celestia just barely stopped herself from flinching at Kyoko’s harsh tone. “She doesn’t know anything about the kidnappings, just that we weren’t on speaking terms,” she answered, eyes fixated on the floor below her. “I promise I wouldn’t tell anyone, and I didn’t.”

“I mean, you already lied to me so I wouldn’t be surprised if you did,” Kyoko commented, mostly to herself, although Celestia heard it very well. “How am I supposed to know what’s a lie and what’s the truth when it comes out of your mouth?”

The gambler inhaled deeply, controlling herself from lashing out. If she wanted this to remain a calm and peaceful conversation, any anger she felt would not be shown.

“I— I understand why you may not choose to trust me, and as I already said I would do the same if I were you,” Celestia began, keeping her head low. “And… I’m sorry.”

Celestia internally sighed when Kyoko offered no audible response.

“I don’t apologize to anyone, really,” she let out a dark chuckle at her own statement, “but I realize where I went wrong. I shouldn’t have lied to you for my own benefit like I did. So, I’m sorry you were hurt by my actions.”

She looked up and locked gazes with Kyoko again, who kept her eyes narrowed.

“You’re… sorry for me being hurt, but not your actions themselves?” Kyoko questioned, crossing her arms.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Celestia shook her head. “That’s not what I—” she cut herself off to take a breath. She had to word this the right way or else this conversation was entirely over. “I have no ill intentions with my apology. What I want you to know is that I understand my past errors and I’m willing to fix them if I can help you with these cases again.”

Kyoko averted her gaze to the side when Celestia finished speaking, gloved fingers digging into her blazer. She looked over at her wall of suspects, eyes tracing over the multicolored lines and words that decorated it. She seemed out of focus, in a way.

“Of all the cases I’ve ever been burdened with in my entire career as a detective, this is by far the most complicated one I’ve seen,” Kyoko started, dropping her tense shoulders. “And you give me false information; just to spend time with me?”

She turned her head back to Celestia, who wanted to shrink into herself into a little ball if she could. Their eyes met for a brief second until Celestia looked away too, now being the one nervous about the eye contact.

“I _break down_ in front of you and you continue on with your lie until I find out?” Kyoko continued, uncrossing her arms to run a hand through her hair. “I don’t understand. We were already spending time with each other, why lie to increase that time?”

“I wasn’t aware… of my feelings at the time,” Celestia confessed, fidgeting with her ring again. “It was selfish of me, I realize that, but I used my lie to discover how I felt for you.”

Kyoko nodded to herself like she had forgotten they were a thing previously.

“Yes, your crush,” Kyoko confirmed nonchalantly with a blank face. Something about her emotionless tone struck Celestia along with the casualty of the words that were said. “That’s why you acted so recklessly?”

“You can’t stand there and tell me you didn’t feel anything for me,” the gambler accused, dodging the question and taking a breath. “I know for a fact that you liked me too.”

There was no immediate answer as Kyoko recrossed her arms, fingers again digging into her blazer like before. It seemed to be a nervous trait of hers. Celestia repressed the urge to frown at the obvious anxiety radiating from the other. Maybe that was too far.

“Apologies,” she repeated an apology upon realizing their conversation would go nowhere with that topic. “That was out of line for me to say— besides my whole point of being here."

Even if she still had an attraction towards Kyoko, she knew that she would never get back together in the blink of an eye like that, especially with Kyoko’s reaction just now. All she needed now was for Kyoko to at least partially forgive her, just enough to believe her information on Junko.

“Just… forget I said that,” Celestia mumbled, shaking her head. “I came here to give you evidence of who the kidnapper is, not to repeat a relationship.”

Kyoko nodded again. “Right,” she replied, grabbing a notebook that laid on her messy bed. “If this evidence is wrong again, I’m putting you in prison.”

Celestia blinked. She had the authority to do that?

“Noted,” Celestia said. “Do you… accept the apology?”

“Not entirely. I just need to get somewhere with this damn case and unfortunately, you’re my only way to move forward with it.”

“Unfortunately,” she repeated under her breath. “Moving on,” she raised her voice again, “we need to go speak with someone _now_ for my evidence to be legible. And I mean _now_.”

Kyoko sighed. “Lead the way then, liar. I’ll be surprised if this person does actually help me out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> celes: ik u like me lol  
> kyoko: ...moving the fuck on-
> 
> also why do i feel like my celes is ooc i hate it here


	21. yet another lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i apologize for the two week wait, i downloaded sims and my whole life has been dedicated to downloading custom content
> 
> speaking of, im pretty sure something i downloaded broke my laptop. im sitting here finishing up my chapter, paragraphs away from finishing, and my music just stops and my document on word freezes. couple seconds later, i get my first ever blue screen. im uploading this as im doing a virus scan so :D fun times!

When Celestia and Kyoko exited the latter’s room, Azumi was no longer sat in her spot in the hallway. Nothing helping indicate her departure besides the fact that she just wasn’t there. Though maybe it was for the best, as a million questions a minute would be sent their way when they had no time to answer any of them. She’d catch up with the drummer at some point.

Celestia pulled out her phone, finding Mukuro’s contact and looking at Kyoko. Why did she look at Kyoko? She didn’t know. Maybe it was instinctual.

“Mukuro?” Kyoko questioned, looking over the gambler’s shoulder. “I thought you told me you knew Mukuro too well for it to be her?”

“It’s complicated,” Celestia borderline snapped, pressing the call button. “It’ll probably be explained on the call. Be patient.”

“Patient? You’re telling _me_ to be patient when—”

_“Yeah?”_

Kyoko instantly shut up at the faint voice coming from Celestia’s phone. Ignoring the amusement she found in the way she cut herself off completely, Celestia tapped the speaker icon and exhaled shakily.

“You should know what this is about,” she began, holding the phone so that both her and Kyoko could hear the soldier on the other line.

_“About the conversation with Junko, right?”_

Celestia nodded before realizing they were speaking through a phone and she wasn’t visible. She covered her mouth, a blush rising on her cheeks, and mumbled a word of confirmation. Kyoko narrowed her eyes when she heard Junko be mentioned.

 _“I expected that to be honest,”_ Mukuro said, followed by a sigh. Her voice lacked the usual playfulness it had when speaking without Junko around. _“I’m in my dorm. If you currently have free time, it would be wise to stop by now before Junko comes over.”_

“We’ll be there within five minutes,” Kyoko answered for Celestia, already walking in the direction of Mukuro’s room.

The call hung up before Celestia could say anything, and she let out a defeated huff. She was not looking forward to this conversation.

* * *

“Why are you stopping me from going inside?”

Celestia’s mouth flatlined as she stood between the door to Mukuro’s room and Kyoko as the detective crossed her arms.

“We need to go over something first,” Celestia demanded.

A scoff left Kyoko’s lips. “What do you want? I thought this lead is urgent?”

“It is,” the gambler confirmed. “Look— you just have to… you can’t be rude to her, understood?”

“And… why not?”

“She’s… ugh how do I say this,” Celestia turned her head to the side. “Her relationship with Junko isn’t stable. I saw some stuff and I don’t know if she can handle anything violent.”

Kyoko rolled her eyes. “Who are you to care?” she shot back. “Suddenly you care about people’s feelings? She’s a soldier. Thank you for the offer, but I’ll deal with this how I’ve been taught too.”

The door behind Celestia opened, pushing the girl forward as a yelp escaped her. She had closed her eyes on instinct and slowly opened them to what she would describe as far too close to someone she liked. Her head tilted up and she met eyes with Kyoko, who soon stepped back with a glare.

“I heard talking, so I opened the door,” Mukuro began speaking from behind Celestia, causing the girl to spin around. “Sorry about that.”

Kyoko wordlessly pushed past Mukuro, intentionally bumping shoulders with the confused soldier.

“What’s her problem?” she whispered to Celestia.

“She’s just agitated. I apologize for her.”

“Eh, it’s fine. Get in here.”

Celestia nodded, entering the dorm room cautiously. It really looked plain if she was being honest. It wasn’t anything special, she noted as she took it upon herself to sit on the bed. Mukuro followed her in, closing the door behind her with a sigh.

“You’re a detective, right?”

That’s what she was starting with? Celestia wanted to facepalm.

“I am,” Kyoko replied coldly.

“Well, I see no reason to lie to you then,” Mukuro continued, sitting herself down at a desk chair. “Feel free to sit on the bed.”

Kyoko took one look at Celestia sat on the bed before turning away. “I’m fine against the wall.”

“Hm, okay,” the taller girl sounded, slowly spinning back and forth on the chair. “Well, you came here for information— what kind in particular?”

“Information on the recent abduction cases around Hope’s Peak,” Kyoko answered, opening a notebook in hand. “The disappearances of Tenko Chabashira, Aoi Asahina, Tsumugi Shirogane, and M—” she stopped herself as she closed her eyes. “My apologies. Only those three.”

Celestia wanted to roll her eyes. That was obviously a subtle hint at her lie.

“Ah, alright. I’m afraid I’m only acquainted with Tsumugi. Tenko and I have talked, but not enough to consider it a friendship.” Mukuro picked up a pencil, tapping it against the desk behind her. A nervous tick Celestia had picked up on during her times of sitting behind the girl in class.

“I was told by Celestia you would have enough information to give us a lead as to where they are?”

Mukuro turned her head to the gambler in question. “Did she?” She sounded surprised. “I’m afraid she must be mistaken.”

Celestia practically jumped from her seat on Mukuro’s bed. “Mistaken?!”

“Junko and I weren’t speaking about any of those three,” she let out a laugh covered by her hand. A fake laugh. “We’re working on a social experiment, nothing relating to kidnapping.”

The gambler’s jaw dropped, and she turned to Kyoko. “You’re hearing this, right?”

“The girl’s just giving her statement. I don’t see the problem.”

“She’s lying!” Celestia clenched her fists, the finger on her ring digging into the palm of her hand. “You _just_ said you had no reason to lie, and then you do!”

Mukuro laughed again. “Why are you so worked up? I’m telling everything I know. It’s just a social experiment.”

“Social experiment, my ass!”

“Is that all?” Kyoko ignored Celestia’s upset remarks, looking back at Mukuro. “As you said, I see no reason for you to lie, so I have no reason to doubt you.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“Bullshit!”

“Then I guess I’ll take it upon myself to leave,” Kyoko stood from leaning against the wall. “Thank you for your time, Mukuro.”

Mukuro nodded with a smile. “Of course, detective.”

The goth put her head in her hands, growling nonstop. Once Kyoko was gone, Celestia dropped her hands, glaring at Mukuro with all her might.

“Mukuro, what the _fuck_ was that!?” she shouted, hands thrown up in the air. “That was my chance to earn her trust and you couldn’t even do that?!”

“Junko wouldn’t want me to expose us this far into our plan,” The soldier shrugged. “Did you expect me to out us to her?”

“Yes! Yes, I actually did!” Celestia huffed, crossing her arms. “You said you didn’t want to hurt your friends, but you lie about no knowing what’s wrong with them?”

“I was talking about physically harming them. This isn’t bad if I just lie a little while longer and—”

“You’re just as bad as me! Now I have to go back to Kyoko and try to convince her that you were lying; she’s not going to believe me, I’ll have to—”

Mukuro rushed to put a hand on Celestia’s shoulder. “Stop, calm d—”

“Get the _fuck_ off me.”

Slowly, the other girl let go and backed away. Celestia didn’t even feel bad for snapping; Mukuro wasn’t who she thought she was.

Is this how Kyoko felt after she found out she was lied to?

After sitting in uncomfortable silence with Mukuro, Celestia got up and headed toward the door, leaving without any words. Her heart was pounding from the rage she let out, and now she was shaking. She couldn’t lie, it felt nice to let that out, but the cause wasn’t ideal.

A sigh left her throat. How was she supposed to convince Kyoko that she wasn’t lying?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mukuro u had one job smh
> 
> am i gonna self promo? yes i am! i have character and ship playlists on spotify! also my overwatch playlist for hype ahaha, but if youre interested maybe follow some of them? 👉👈 this is all my music i listen to so feel free to judge lmao
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/user/krazykyleigh


	22. update

lmao i’m so sorry it feels like years since this updated. losing inspo for it majorly. i really hate to go on a break w this AGAIN but writers block has been fucking w my ability to think of words to put on this digital paper. i don’t want to half ass something then push it out like i did with the last chapter. i have a steady idea of what’s happening in this story, but it just seems so rushed in everything i write and i really need to slow it down. my sincerest apologies that i’m putting this on hiatus again, but for the quality of this story it has to be done. i literally want this story over with and that’s a terrible mindset to have for a story. so until i break through my writers block, this will be on hold while i write other shorter things. i am again sorry </3


End file.
